


Royals and Halfbloods

by Mycroffed



Series: Of Shadows and Lions [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Versailles (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Camp Half Blood, F/M, Fabien is a son of Apollo, Henriette is a Maenad, Liselotte is a daughter of Athena, Lorraine is a son of Dionysus, Louis is human because he's a prick, Louis might also be human for the drama, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Philippe is a son of Hades, i don't want to spoil anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-06-30 19:48:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 28,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15758496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mycroffed/pseuds/Mycroffed
Summary: Philippe has always stood in the shadows of his brother, but an attack at school reveals that it's not just /his/ shadows that he's in.Or, the Versailles - PJO crossover that nobody asked for.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'll admit it, I was inspired by nerddowell's fic '
> 
>  
> 
> [Nice Job, Corpse Bride](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11523876)
> 
>  
> 
> ' to write this. Though this is complete unrelated, go check that one out, because it's a lot of fun!
> 
> I have planned this one out and hopefully my friend will keep me motivated enough to actually finish it this time!
> 
> Your feedback, as always, is highly appreciated, as are your comments and kudos.

_‘She paints her fingers with a close precision_

_He starts to notice empty bottles of gin_  
_And takes a moment to assess the sin_  
_She's paid for.’_

As Panic! at the Disco blared at him through the docking station, Philippe opened one eye to check the time. Six thirty a.m. He reached out to snooze the alarm, to make it shut up, but his arm seemed to be just a few inches short. As per bloody usual. With a soft groan, he rolled over, until he was laying on his back and could stare at the ceiling for a few minutes as he blinked the sleep away from his eyes.

 _‘A lonely speaker in a conversation_  
_Her words are swimming through his ears again_  
_There's nothing wrong with just a taste of what you've paid for_

 _Say what you mean_  
_Tell me I'm right_  
_And let the sun rain down on me_  
_Give me a sign_  
_I want to believe’_

Right before the chorus started, Philippe swung his legs out of bed and stumbled towards his bathroom, where Louis was maintaining that ridiculous moustache of his. When would he learn that he looked ridiculous with it? Not that he was going to tell his brother that – it would be an idiotic thing to do.

“Good morning, brother!” Louis seemed quite cheerful this morning.

“Yeah, whatever.” Philippe wasn’t a morning person. Any time before eleven was the middle of the night for him, but he didn’t have a choice when it came to going to school. It was one of his last years and if he could take Louis’ words for it, it got better once he would go to college. Apparently the early classes were much less common there than in high school.

He picked up his own razor and stood right next to his brother as he lathered his face with shaving cream. He wished that he wouldn’t have to do this every morning, but his beard grew faster than he’d like. Once he was done with that, he threw some water in his face, towelled himself off and made his way downstairs, where breakfast was served.

There weren’t many perks to being royalty nowadays, but one of the few that remained was that the two Bourbon brothers were able to maintain quite a rich lifestyle. They had a few servants – Bontemps, who served as their guardian ever since their parents had died, Fabien Marchall, who was basically their bodyguard and Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who looked after the financial part of their lives – but apart from that, their lives barely differed from anyone else’s.

At least that was the case for Philippe. Since he was the second son, there weren’t as many obligations for him as for Louis. On the other side, his brother seemed to be convinced that he was chosen by God to be the next head of the Bourbon family. Philippe usually decided to ignore him when he started rambling on about things like that. Encouraging him only tended to make him believe himself more.

He sat down at the breakfast table and grabbed a bowl, before filling it with cinnamon and apple porridge. As he ate, Louis made his way downstairs, already fully dressed, looking his best in his Armani suit. He looked as if he was going to court or something, while Philippe knew for sure that his brother would be joining him on his trip to school and afterwards go to college. He simply didn’t understand why the suit was necessary, but every time he asked Louis about it, he’d get a rant about being seen in the public eye.

As usual, Philippe tended to ignore him when that happened.

“Please tell me you will put on something more than a shirt and one of your torn skinny jeans, brother.” Louis sounded exasperated as he glanced Philippe sitting at the breakfast table, still in his PJs.

“I’ll be wearing whatever makes me feel comfortable, _brother._ ” He spoke with a mouthful of porridge, which earned him a disapproving look not only from Louis, but also from Bontemps. It was only for the latter that he swallowed before continuing to talk. “And if that happens to be a shirt and one of my torn skinny jeans, then so be it.” He then stubbornly stuffed his mouth full of another spoonful of food.

After an annoyed huff from his brother, Philippe sent him the cheekiest little smile, finished his bowl and disappeared upstairs again to get dressed. He picked out the laziest shirt and the most torn trousers, before grabbing his backpack and going back downstairs. He was ready to go to school.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, only to see a few messages from Armand, one of his better friends at school. They had shared a few kisses, but it was all still very new and Philippe was hesitant to put a label on their relationship.

 

**Armand - 6:58**

Mornin.

Meet me in the bike shed?

 

A grin quickly spread across his face as he typed out a reply.

 

**Philippe – 7:13**

There in fifteen.

Missed you.

 

**Armand – 7:14**

Missed u2

Now get ur ass over here.

 

Quickly pocketing his phone once again, he followed Louis and Bontemps towards the car.

 

\--~--

 

The second the car stopped, both Philippe and his brother jumped out of the car, rushing towards their respective friends. He could see Louis rush towards Henriette, one of _his_ friends, and pulling her in for a kiss. This was the only reason the older Bourbon joined Philippe in his trip to school – and he would be there when school was over as well, if his schedule allowed it. Just to make out with one of his best friends.

After rolling his eyes at the scene – he could never have _anything_ without Louis putting his sticky paws all over it and claiming it as his own – he left the two of them behind and made his way towards the bike shed. As promised, Armand was waiting for him there.

Philippe practically ran towards him, before throwing himself in his arms and allowing their lips to clash together. He ignored the few comments that he heard coming from the people around them, mostly because he didn’t care. (Though knowing that he could have their heads cut off for this was also a very nice thought.)

“Good mornin’.” Armand hummed in that wonderfully low baritone of his. “Someone appears to be rather eager this morning.”

“Shut up and kiss me.” Philippe grumbled, before pulling him in for another kiss.

Happily complying with that order, Armand moved until he could pin Philippe against one of the walls that was free of bikes, not that the latter seemed to object. One of his hands seemed to move downwards, where it cupped one of Philippe’s butt cheeks, which the other didn’t seem to mind too much. In fact, the softest of moans escaped him when—

The bell rang.

The two of them pulled apart, Armand sending Philippe an apologetic look before he adjusted his trousers. Neither of them minded their uncomfortableness too much as they made their way towards their first period, holding hands as they made their ways through the hallways.

 

 

 

\--~--

 

 

 

The day was boring, as they usually were. Philippe only shared the first and fourth period with Armand, the rest of them were spent either with Henriette or Maria Theresa. Lunch period was spent in his non-boyfriend boyfriend’s lap, pointing out where his brother had left his disgusting marks on Henriette’s neck.

“You really ought to tell him to keep the hickeys limited to underneath your neck.” He chuckled. “Or, y’know, you could just break up with him, that’s also an idea.” It was no secret that Philippe  didn’t like the relationship between his friend and his brother, but the two of them had come to a consensus that he could tease her, as long as he didn’t actually try to break the two of them up.

“You know that telling him to stop only encourages him more.” Henriette did cover the hickey, though, with one of her scarfs that she always seemed to carry with her for this exact purpose.

“Doesn’t mean that you can’t tell him sometimes. It’s almost as if he doesn’t know what _no_ means.” He shrugged as he got his lunch out of his backpack. He handed one of his sandwiches to Armand – who eagerly took it, since it was usually much better than what he had with him – before eating the other one himself.

“You’ve clearly not dealt with your brother in a long time, Philippe.” Maria Theresa, the exchange student from Spain who had joined them for the remainder of the year, added. She had also been attracting his brother’s attention, though in a different manner than Henriette. Philippe wouldn’t be surprised if it was Maria Theresa that Louis would go down on one knee for, rather than his current girlfriend.

“Can we please stop talking about him? I’ve already got to deal with him at home, I’d rather not have him ruin the hours that I’m away from him.” He was very much aware that he had been the one to bring him up in the first place.

The remainder of lunch hour was spent talking about the football team and their brilliant arses – a discussion joined by everyone around the table – and who would have the best chances of getting into a fight after school. An hour had never gone as fast as that.

 

\--~--

 

School was over both not fast enough and way too fast. At least at school he could spend his time with Armand and his other friends, while at home, he would spend his time either cooped up in his room or being lectured by Either Louis or Bontemps about his behaviour at school. He walked out of the school gate, hand in hand with Armand, planning on spending some more time with him before allowing Bontemps to drive him and Louis – who had turned up today – back home. Besides, his brother would want to spend some time with Henriette himself as well.

He could already see him rush towards her, their lips immediately connecting. Couldn’t they just talk, he wondered?

Turning his attention away from the two of them, however, and back towards his own not-boyfriend boyfriend, a smile slowly spread across his face. “How was your day?”

“Too long without you.” Armand muttered, before leaning into Philippe’s personal bubble and gently kissing him.

Philippe loved these kinds of kisses: they tended to last pretty long and never had a sense of urgency. It felt as if they had all the time in the world and nobody was able to rush them. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, my darling.” They broke apart for just a second, only to stare at each other’s eyes for a second, before the kiss continued. Their hands were wandering over each other’s bodies, never staying in one place long.  When Armand tried to slide one of them in Philippe’s trousers, however, he was slapped and immediately pulled his hand away again, with a soft chuckle. “Don’t you like that?” He almost purred at the other, but Philippe barely registered that.

There was some screaming coming from inside the school, which made both boys look up and pull away from each other. While Philippe’s initial reaction was to run towards Bontemps and get the hell away from whatever was happening, Armand grabbed his hand and kept him close to him. Before Philippe could actually say anything about that, though, a voice rang through the air, as clear and understandable as if the person right next to him had yelled it.

_“Where’s the Bourbon boy?”_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not-so-graphic-but -still-kinda-graphic descriptions of violence in this chapter.
> 
> Writing is going ridiculously well, so you can probably expect a next chapter tomorrow.

_“Where’s the Bourbon boy?”_

Every instinct that Philippe had was shouting at him to make his way to Bontemps, who had the car ready, who had the way out. He could see, out of the corner of his eyes, that Louis was making his way towards the man, though Henriette seemed to have disappeared from view. However, every time that he attempted to go in that direction, Armand tugged him back towards him.

“I have to leave, Armand, I can’t stay here. What if they will come for me when they can’t find Louis?” Philippe angrily whispered at him, tugging his hand free. “You must come with me, you’ll be safe. Please, let’s not stay where we are in danger.”

“We’ll be safe in the bike shed. Whoever’s after you and your family won’t think to look there.”

And so Philippe allowed himself to be dragged off to the place where they had made out that morning, and while his friend was attempting to get back on track with those activities, the Bourbon boy was less than interested. He kept turning around, checking on the entrance to the shed, making sure that nobody else was there with them.

“Come on, my darling, stop looking over your shoulder. We’re definitely safe here, who would think to look between boring old bikes?” The noises of panic outside was only getting louder, which didn’t ease Philippe at all. “Nothing is going to happen to you here.”

He opened his mouth to tell Armand that he _really_ should make his way back, but that was when he was interrupted by the Imperial Mars playing from his phone.

_Louis’ ringtone._

Armand had installed it when Louis had given him the phone – Philippe was anything but brilliant with technology – because he was convinced that it would announce the older Bourbon brother’s entrance sufficiently. Both knew immediately who was trying to reach him. As Philippe reached for his phone, his non-boyfriend boyfriend grabbed his arm and stopped him from doing so.

“I’m sorry, but I cannot let you take that.”

“Armand?”

“ _’Armand, Armand, what’s going on, Armand?’_ ” The man mocked Philippe’s voice, which caused the latter to stumble back in surprise. “For one of the Big Three, you’re extraordinarily thick-headed, aren’t you?” No longer did he sound like the friend he had frolicked around with, but the tone of his voice had changed to something completely different. “You can’t even see through the Mist.”

“The Mist?” Philippe glanced over his shoulder, trying to estimate how long it’d take him to run towards the exit, join the rest of the chaos outside, but he quickly realised that he wouldn’t be able to make it before Armand would catch up with him.

“Didn’t that butler of yours tell you anything? You’re so clueless it’s almost funny.” He laughed, before shaking his head. “Louis is not the special one, my _darling_. Not that you’ll live long enough to learn this.”

Right in front of his eyes, Armand was transforming. He seemed to be growing taller – he had already been ridiculously tall, but for some reason, he only seemed to grow more – while the hair on his body multiplied. His hands changed into claws and—

Wait, _claws?_

That was when Philippe did a double take, to make sure that he had seen everything correctly. Yes, those things had turned into claws. Staring at them for a while, he reacted too late to another voice, coming from behind him.

“ _There you are, Bourbon boy.”_ This time, the voice didn’t resonate all that much, not like before, but it was right behind him. While Philippe had been staring at Armand – or whatever he had turned into – a woman had snuck up on him. “ _Time to die now.”_

She seemed absolutely normal, if it wasn’t for that look in her eyes that clearly said that she had no good intentions towards him in _any_ way. “What do you want from me?”

_“You didn’t lie about how clueless he is.”_ The woman chuckled, before grabbing Philippe by his throat and pinning him against the closest wall. She was stronger than she seemed, because he was hovering a few inches from the ground.

“… Please.” He whispered, as he struggled to get out of her grip. “Don’t do this.”

“What are you going to do to stop us? Look at us with those adorable puppy eyes? That’s not going to be very effective.” The giant Armand snarled at him, before punching Philippe in the gut.

“Please…” He begged again, especially now that there were black spots appearing in his vision. If he didn’t do anything anytime soon, he’d probably pass out, which would probably end up with him being kidnapped. That was the last thing he wanted, especially because he wasn’t too sure whether or not Louis would try to get him back.

“Philippe!”

A voice that he was very familiar with rang through the air. That was…? He turned towards the voice as much as he could. It was Henriette who was standing there, though she also, looked different from what she usually did. She was dressed the same as usual, but she was holding a slim and elegant looking sabre. Which she threw at him, incidentally.

He had been convinced that he would not be able to catch it, but he appeared to be completely wrong. He easily caught it and acted purely on instinct as he cut the woman’s hand off that was holding him. Philippe was immediately dropped to the ground, where he took a few seconds to catch his breath.

The woman was screaming as she held her hand, Armand rushing to her side in an attempt to help her recover? He had no idea, but he was looking at her the same way that he used to look at Philippe. The latter used this moment of respite to rush towards his friend, holding the sword as if he had been doing that his entire life.

“Henriette, what is happening?” He whispered to her, still absolutely confused about what the hell was happening. “Who are these people?”

“Armand is a Laistrygonian Giant.” She said quietly, though it was quite clear that she wasn’t too happy to see him. “I should have known that he was onto something. Those giants never have good intentions, especially not when it comes to demigods.”

“Wait, demigod—?”

Before Henriette could explain anything else, Armand came charging at them, screaming loudly. He had one of his hands raised, his claw ready to slash and cut Philippe’s throat, but he easily blocked the attack with his new sword. In fact, he even cut a few fingers off by accident! This earned him a rather loud howl from his former boyfriend – he’d take this as a sign that they needed to break up, even though he didn’t allow himself to think about that, not now. It would be… unwise, even he knew that.

“You’re going to _die_ , Bourbon!” He yelled, before once again charging at him. This time, he never allowed Philippe’s sword to actually touch him like he had the first time, simply dodging and ducking every time that he was almost hit.

“I don’t want to kill you, Armand.” His voice was quieter than he would have liked as he addressed the other. His instincts were taking over as he attacked and jumped out of the way of swings aimed at either his arm or his throat. He didn’t know how he was doing this, but he barely had to think about it – which meant that he still had plenty of time for banter.

“I certainly want to kill _you_ , so tough luck.” Once again, he launched himself at the royal, this time ready to slice his throat.

However, both of them were distracted by a blood  scream coming from right next to them. Both of them stopped what they were doing and turned towards the two ladies next to them. They had been involved in a fight of their own and even though Philippe didn’t doubt that Henriette had did her best to defend herself – and by extension protect him – she had fallen to her knees, surrounded by flames. She was screaming in agony – it wasn’t just the heat of the fire, but also the smoke and the fact that her assailant was towering over her, the hand that hadn’t been cut off raised in the air.

She appeared to be controlling the fire that was attacking his friend, which Philippe couldn’t allow to pass, oh no. Henriette might have been claimed by Louis, but in no way was this damn stranger to take her away from him for good. Turning his back towards Armand, his sabre raised, he ran towards the witch.

“Lamia, watch out!” Armand attempted to warn her, to help her to dodge the attack that was rather mindlessly being thrown her way.

Those three words were all she needed, because with one swift movement, Lamia snapped Henriette’s neck so that she only had to fight on one front. The fire died out almost immediately.

“No!” Philippe screamed, tears already running down his cheeks as he watched his friend’s body drop to the ground. “Henriette!”

_“Prepare to join her in Tartarus, Bourbon.”_ The look on Lamia’s face was smug, but it didn’t last very long. The royal didn’t even reach her before vines appeared out of the ground, enveloping her completely. “ _No, no, my lord, please forgive me, I didn’t know—”_

Those words were her last, because just like Henriette, her neck had been snapped by the vines.

The two boys stared at the two bodies for a while, both numb and absolutely surprised by what had just happened. Within the span of minutes, both of their friends had died by what appeared to be magic. Armand regained his wits faster than Philippe did and used the fact that the other was still dazed to his advantage. He raised his right claw and brought it down across the royal’s chest.

Three parallel cuts were the result of that attack and those seemed to snap Philippe out of whatever trance he had been in. With quite some effort, he raised his right arm, the one that was also holding his sword, and in one fellow swoop cut off Armand’s head.

As the now separated head slowly fell to the ground – everything happened in slow motion to Philippe, as if that would help him understand everything better (spoiler alert, it didn’t) – he fell to his knees. The world slowly turned darker and darker and no matter how hard he tried to stay awake, he couldn’t help but think that this was going to be it. His world had taken a turn for the worst and now he was going to die.

_How ironic that he would be the first Bourbon brother to die._

 “Philippe!”

He fell forward, face first into a pile of leaves in front of him. He vaguely realised that someone was calling out his name, that someone was looking for him, but he simply couldn’t react.

“Your highness!”

The voice seemed to be closer now and he was sure that it was one that he recognised. It wasn’t his brother, it wasn’t Bontemps, it was… Fabien. This suspicion was confirmed when he was rolled over and could see the bodyguard’s face. He immediately scanned wounded boy’s body, checking for injuries and if he would need an ambulance.

“Marshall…” Philippe whispered, a smile slowly appearing around his lips. “Henriette, she’s—”

“Don’t speak, your highness. Henriette will be fine. You have to focus on yourself first, now.” Somehow, a bottle hand appeared in his hand, which he placed against Philippe’s lips. “Drink this. You’ll feel better once you do.”

Unable to protest, he opened his mouth and swallowed the liquid that poured in his mouth. It tasted like those pancakes that only Bontemps knew how to make, with a ridiculous amount of syrup poured over it. As he glanced down, he watched the three scratches on his chest heal, right in front of his eyes.

“What was—”

“Shh, Philippe. Just sleep now. Everything will be explained later.”

Listening to a man he trusted completely, he allowed his eyes slowly fluttered shut as he drifted away in a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Henriette is a Maenad, a follower of Dionysus. Though the god despises them, if anyone destroys or kills a Maenad, Dionysus will either drive said person insane, kill them, or do both.
> 
> In this case, I took advantage of that to lighten the fight a little bit for Philippe.


	3. Chapter 3

“Louis, you really should get something to eat.”

“I’m not moving until I know what happened to my brother! You brought him in, his shirt ripped open, blood everywhere, fresh scars on his chest, but no open wounds! On top of that, he’s unconscious and looks as pale as a sheet.”

“It doesn’t look as if he’s going to wake up soon. You should take care of yourself, sire.”

“Bontemps—”

Three voices were arguing when Philippe came to again. He slowly opened his eyes, though his instinct immediately yelled at him to both protect Henriette and get himself out of the situation. So he pushed his duvet off him, mumbling something incoherent before two pairs of hands pushed him down onto the bed again.

“Henriette…” He protested, before he glanced up at Fabien and grabbed his shirt. “You saw her. You were there, what…  What happened to her?”

There were a few seconds of silence, before Bontemps spoke up. “She died, Philippe. I’m really sorry.”

As tears welled up in his eyes, he turned towards his brother. Louis wasn’t looking at him – in fact, he was distinctly turning his head _away_ from him – but that didn’t stop him from letting go of Fabien and reaching out towards the other. “I tried to protect her, but there was fire and then Lamia snapped her neck and—and the vines…”

“Shut up, Philippe.” Louis’ voice was tense, but that was no surprise. “You sound absolutely crazy. Do you honestly believe that that was what happened? You _killed_ your boyfriend! You cut his head right off, why would you do that?”

“He wasn’t human, he was… Henriette said that he was a Laistrygonian Giant. I saw him change in front of my eyes. I wouldn’t—I would never just kill him out of nowhere.” Philippe was trying desperately to defend himself, glancing at both Bontemps and Marchal for support. “Marchal, you’ve seen the body, it wasn’t human, was it?” There was a very panicky undertone in his voice, with an implied ‘please tell me I’m not crazy’ hanging in the air.

However, it was Bontemps who spoke. “There is something that the both of you should know.”

Both Bourbon boys turned towards their guardian, their fight temporarily forgotten. They were both counting on him to clear out the situation and to clearly point a finger at someone. “Philippe is saying the truth.”

Louis immediately launched in a defensive statement. “Wouldn’t we have noticed if Armand was a giant? He wasn’t small but—”

“Louis, will you shut up for a moment?” Bontemps had never been this stern with the older Bourbon boy before, always treating him with respect, but the look in his eyes made it quite clear that he would not accept anymore protests or interruptions. “We have taught the two of you about the Greek gods your entire life. Have you never wondered why?”

“I thought they were quite interesting.” Philippe admitted, shrugging at his guardian. Louis remained quiet, clearly sulking.

“There was another reason than that, though, of course, you are quite right, Philippe.” Bontemps smiled at the younger brother, as he tried to think of a diplomatic way to tell them.

“The Greek gods are real.” It was Marchal who took the blunt way out, who was tired of waiting for a nice way out. “They have kids with mortals and those kids attract monsters. I’m a son of Apollo and you, your highness, also have a godly father.”

Everyone in the room was quiet for a few seconds, before almost all of them burst out in protest.

“Do you even hear what you’re saying here—?”

“Marchal, we had agreed that I would put this delicately—”

“Is this craziness spreading around me—?”

“Putting it delicately would have taken us another hour, this was the faster way out—”

“First Philippe, now you two—”

The only one who didn’t say a word was Philippe. He simply sat there, on his bed, a hand running over his chest where he had, merely hours ago, been scratched by his non-boyfriend boyfriend. Now all there was left were some scars. If anyone had told him that he had a god as a father a few days ago, he would have laughed in their face. However, after all that had happened…? It didn’t sound like the crazy way out anymore.

“Who’s my father then, if it wasn’t Louis Bourbon XIII?”

The discussions around him immediately fell quiet. Nobody seemed to know how to answer that question, at least not directly.

“You are all mad. _Mad_ , I tell you.” Louis, for once not the centre of attention, got up from his spot right next to Philippe’s bed and made his way towards the door of the room. “Get back to me when you’ve all come to your senses and have decided to not play along with my sick brother’s stories to justify why he murdered two of his friends – one of them my _girlfriend_ – and a stranger!”

The door slammed shut behind him.

“I should go talk to him.” Bontemps also got up and followed the oldest Bourbon brother out of the room. The silence in the room spanned a few minutes before Philippe broke the silence.

“You didn’t answer my question, Marchal.”

“That is because I don’t know the answer to it, your highness.”

Philippe quickly waved that away, not wanting the other to call him that, not right at this moment. “Call me anything but that. If you don’t know the answer, then tell me about what you do know? What am I? Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“That’s an easy one to answer: you’re a demigod. It is generally accepted that it is safer not to know it, because your smell becomes stronger once you know, which means that you cannot stay here. There is a place for people like us, called Camp Half Blood. You shall be safe there.” Marchal was speaking very matter-of-factly, as if this information was readily available to absolutely everyone. “We will take you there before the day is over.”

“Demi— Is that why I healed so fast?” He gestured at his chest, where the scars were still visible. “Is it because I am not human?”

“You healed because I gave you ambrosia. They will tell you more at this camp, but we must get you there fast, before another attack takes place. We cannot risk the safety of Louis.”

“Of course, because Louis is more important than I am, is he not?” The youngest Bourbon got out of his bed, already starting to collect a few of his things. He abruptly changed the subject, since going on about Louis would only end up upsetting him more. “If I leave behind a list of things that I want to be brought by at a later date, will you take care of that?”

Realising very well that the subject of Louis should be dropped, Marchal got up as well, nodding. “I will, your highness.”

“Good. Now leave me, so I can decide what to bring with me to this camp of yours.”

“As you wish.”

The second that Philippe was alone, he made his way back towards his bed, on which he collapsed and finally allowed himself to weep. He cried for Henriette, his friend, for Armand, for the stranger who had died mysteriously. He cried for himself, for the last shred of innocence lost. He cried for Louis, for he feared that he may have lost his brother for good.

 

\--~--

 

Philippe stayed awake until three in the morning that day. It wasn’t unusual for him to stay up that late, but usually his evenings would be spent watching television, not rummaging around in his room, collecting books, packing clothes, getting ready to go to this camp. He picked up some mementoes, took a close look at them, before deciding to leave them all behind.

If he were to start a new life, then it would be impossible for him to carry around the weight of his past.

Once he had packed everything, he made his way over to Louis’ room, stood in the doorway for about a minute, before turning his back on his brother. Afterwards, he followed his example, after setting an alarm for six. He intended to be gone by the time that his brother woke once more.

 

\--~--

 

That morning, Philippe and Fabien were seated in the car, all ready to depart. His most important belongings were packed in the trunk, while he sat in the passenger’s seat. Bontemps had said goodbye to him and had asked whether he wanted to say anything to his brother, but Philippe hadn’t appeared interested.

And so he left, like a thief in the night, clouded in shadows.

Not even an hour had passed before the passenger was already asleep again, drifted off into dreamland. If only it had been a peaceful dream, but no. Not even that was given to Philippe.

 

\--~--

 

When he opened his eyes again, Philippe realised that the car had come to a halt. “Have we arrived?” He sounded groggy and tired, but he was present once again. “Are we at our destination?”

“No. We have stopped because you were screaming in your sleep.” Marchal said, turned towards him with worry in his eyes. “You truly did care about Armand, didn’t you?”

“He turned out to be a monster. I did not care about him at all.” He looked outside, refusing to look at the bodyguard, since that would reveal to him just how big of a liar he truly was. “Why are you asking this?”

“Because you called out his name while you were asleep, your highness.”

The quietest of sobs escaped Philippe as he once again allowed himself to actually feel. He was seventeen, he had lost his first love. How could he possibly be okay, move on within a day?

“Your highn— _Philippe_.” Marchal reached out to the young boy, gently touching his shoulder. “He may have been your first, but he won’t be the last. While it may hurt now, it won’t for very long. I promise you that.”

“Are you sure?”

“Let me tell you a story, young Philippe.” His voice is low, but gentle. “A story about the first lady that I ever fell in love with. Her name was Eleanore and we met when we were in high school.”

“Your high school sweetheart?” Philippe’s face transformed as a smile spread across his face. He quickly wiped away his tears, now that he had a distraction.

“She was indeed my high school sweetheart.” Marchal seemed to smile as well at the mere memory of her. “We fell in love, met each other after school in the bike shed and talked about each day that had passed. We cared for each other deeply, but once that we had both left for different colleges, that contact disappeared. While the both of us still care greatly for each other, those feelings of love had disappeared.” His smile had turned very fond at this point. “We still write each other regularly, still share our days, but no longer do I yearn for her touch.”

“Do you think that this will happen with me and Armand?”

“I am sure of it, Philippe. Just give it time.”

The youngest passenger nodded, before leaning back in his seat. “I’m feeling better now. Thank you.”

 

\--~--

 

It took them another three hours before they arrived on Long Island. Once the car was parked, Marchal got out and grabbed the luggage from the trunk. Philippe himself grabbed his backpack, with his dearest and most valuable books, and swung it onto his back. Without exchanging a single word, the two men walked towards the entrance of the camp in amicable silence.

Once the camp borders and gate arrived in the distance, Philippe gasped.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While the muse hasn't gone down, my time to write had diminished a great deal. I should have a few days to write, now, so I will try to post every day again.
> 
> Once again, thank you for reading, I hope you like this trip to Camp Half Blood.

 

On top of the hill, right next to what appeared to be a golden fleece of some kind – that was a question that Philippe would ask later, when this world was no longer so wonderful and new to him – stood three figures. One was a centaur – that was easy enough to see, since it couldn’t be a man on a horse. There was no horse head – and the others were humans. Or at least that was how they looked to him.

The closer he got, the better he could see them. He had been right about the centaur – the creature looked ready to go into battle with the Greek armour breast plate and the spear that he was leaning on a little – but the two humans next to him… One of them was a blonde haired girl, who was wearing a tattered orange shirt with the words ‘Camp Half Blood’ semi-faded. She didn’t appear to be carrying any weapons – or at least not any visible ones – but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t kick his ass if she wanted to. Philippe made a mental note to not get on her bad side.

The other one – _oh_ , the other one – had gorgeous, long, curly locks that were tied back in a nonchalant bun. He was wearing the same shirt, but on top of that, he had a bead necklace around his neck that counted about nine different beads. As he actually looked at this guy’s face, Philippe couldn’t help but gasp. Those grey-ish eyes, that thin moustache, that mischievous and cocky smile—Philippe was done for almost immediately.

Armand was already forgotten as the Bourbon boy froze, halfway up the hill, practically toppling back as he just _stared_ at the boy. It was only thanks to Fabien that he didn’t fall down the hill and had to make that climb all over again.

“Who do you think he’s staring at, you or me?” The blonde-haired god asked the girl next to him, loud enough for Philippe to hear.

He opened his mouth, wanting to call out to the strangers to make it absolutely clear who exactly he was fawning over, but no words managed to leave his mouth. He would have remained there, standing there halfway up the hill, if it hadn’t been for Marchal who started to push him forward.

“Ah, apparently he prefers me over you, my dear.” The man with the golden hair spoke as Philippe got close enough to have to turn his head in order to keep staring at him. “I shouldn’t be surprised, he’s got the face for it.”

The girl elbowed him in his side, causing him to groan softly, but the two of them were clearly smiling brightly. Friends, then, Philippe decided. His gaze was dragged away from the duo, however, when the centaur spoke up.

“Fabien, welcome back. Is this the young Bourbon?” The centaur spoke up. At a nod from the son of Apollo, he turned towards Philippe. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Philippe. What a pleasure it is to finally meet you. I’m Chiron. These two are the head counsellors, Philippe de Lorraine, son of Dionysus, our camp leader, and Elisabeth Charlotte von der Pfaltz, daughter of Athena.”

“Please, call me Liselotte. All my friends do.” The girl stepped forward, offering him a hand as a greeting. “Do you know who your godly parent is yet?”

Philippe took her hand, before pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles – which earned him a surprised little noise. She had clearly not expected this reaction. “Philippe Bourbon. I fear that I have no idea who he is just yet. I hope that someone will be able to explain it to me soon.”

The other Philippe appeared to be struck by a bout of jealousy, because the second that Philippe let go of Liselotte’s hand, he thrust his hand out into his direction, though not to shake it. He clearly wanted the same treatment that she had received. Since he had regained his wit – and most importantly, his tongue – Philippe Bourbon took the man’s hand and pressed a kiss against it in a similar fashion.

“You seem to know exactly what to do to flatter a man, Bourbon.” The other Philippe grinned brightly,  delighted at the actions of the new camper.

Philippe’s jaw immediately tensed up as he pulled away from the man. “Please don’t call me that. Give me a stupid nickname, I don’t care, but please don’t call me Bourbon. That’s my brother, not me.”

“I can’t very well call you Philippe, that’s my name.” The son of Dionysus raised an eyebrow at the other, almost as if he were thoroughly unimpressed with his request.

“Didn’t you hear what I said?” He tensed up even more, deciding that while this man might _look_ like a god, he was certainly acting like a total asshole. ( _Why was that still so attractive to him?)_

“How about we figure that out later?” Liselotte stepped in, sensing that this could absolutely escalate into an argument, and that wasn’t what anything would want on Philippe’s first day. “Right now we’ll just call you—” She pointed at Philippe. “Philippe and you—” She pointed at the other Philippe. “Lorraine.”

“Why does _he_ get to keep his name?” The newly named Lorraine whined at her, clearly not happy with how the names were divided.

“Life isn’t fair, is it?” There was a smug look on Philippe’s face as he stepped past the two, finally seeing the camp enfold on the hill.

First thing that caught his eye was the main building. He didn’t know why the sky-blue house managed to snatch his attention first, since it was obviously the least special in the entire camp, yet there was something about it. As his eyes continued to roam the site in front of him, he noticed a couple of smaller buildings, each of them looking weirder than the previous one. There appeared to be a mausoleum, one covered in grapevines, another one that appeared to be made completely out of obsidian… He had no idea what those were doing there, but since people were walking in and out of there fairly freely, he assumed that those might be living quarters.

“What do you think of our camp, your highness?” It was Chiron who had walked over next to him – mostly because Lorraine and Liselotte were still arguing about the different names they could possibly give Philippe.

“It’s certainly something.” He said quietly, not knowing what else to say.

“You will find familiarity here soon enough. You are safe here and that is what matters most.” The centaur walked forward, going down the hill and towards the big house, expecting everyone to follow him. Fabien did, without hesitation, still carrying most of the bags that Philippe had brought along. The two bickering head counsellors also followed him, leaving the Bourbon boy to start there, at the top of the hill and on his own, for just a little bit longer.

This was his home now. This was probably going to be his home for the foreseeable future.

_At least this is something that Louis can’t touch._

 

\--~--

 

They dropped his luggage off at one of the cabins – it wasn’t that impressive, especially not if compared to other cabins, with the peeling brown paint – one that everyone assured him was only temporary. It was the cabin of Hermes, where his children and the unclaimed demigods stayed until they were – _well –_ claimed. He felt rather awkward in there, as if he didn’t belong, but he wasn’t sure if that was because of the cabin itself or the campers who were gathering around, all dressed in either that orange shirt the two head counsellors were wearing or various versions of Greek armour.

Philippe glanced at his own clothes, a very comfy but rather expensive pair of trousers from Harrod’s, which was made to look as if they were thrown together in an Asian country, but was in fact worth quite a lot of money. There was an advantage to being nobility, even if he was just a descendant from the French royal family. (They may not have power, nor do they actually sit on the throne of France, but they are still a rather rich noble family.) He wasn’t too sure if he was prepared to change out of them just yet.

Once his bunk had been assigned – that was something else he would have to get used to, since he had always had his own room for as long as he could remember – Philippe was guided back outside, where he got a tour of the circle – or what was clearly made to look like that, but wasn’t – of cabins. He saw the three nearly empty cabins of Zeus, Hera and Poseidon, each one more impressive than the other. Then there were those that belonged to Athena – that one looked like an architect had spit it up and dropped it there – and Dionysus – this was the one that was covered in grapevines, that he had been able to see from on top of the hill.

His companions – or at least he assumed they were, since they hadn’t left his side yet – both started to ramble about their respective cabins. Liselotte started to talk about someone called Annabeth and about how she had been working on the new cabins. While it was endearing, Philippe quickly filtered it out in favour of staring at his namesake.

At the cabin of Dionysus, Lorraine plucked a grape off one of the vines, which he then proceeded to eat in a rather _seductive_ manner. “This is my home, though I’d rather stay with my pops, but he’s insists that he can’t treat me differently than any other campers, just because I’m his son.”

Philippe only got about half of what he had said, because he had be so distracted by that damn _grape_ that it was difficult to focus on anything else. This was also the case for most of the other cabins – he would register that Liselotte or Lorraine were saying something, but it just wouldn’t register.

It wasn’t until they reached the cabin that belonged to Hades that something inside of him seemed to stir. While the other two tried to brush past it – they claimed that, since he was one of the Big Three, he hadn’t had kids in a _long_ time – he insisted that they stay there for at least a few minutes.

“Why do you want to stay at this decrepit place?” Lorraine asked, his disdain for Hades quite obvious, as if he wasn’t even trying to hide it. “It’s dark and there are absolutely no windows and I know that Nico stays there, but I don’t think he can actually stay there, you know?”

Liselotte nudged him, looking quite disappointed at Lorraine.

“What? Have you seen him at camp for more than just a few days? He spends more time with his own pops than anyone else. And I’m including _me_ here.”

“Lorraine…” Liselotte muttered, trying to get the demigod to shut up.

“Hades is the god who hides in the darkness of the Underworld, who takes people’s lives. He’s not the _bad guy_ , but he was the loser of a fight between the gods and that has never settled well with him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was actually plotting something.” The other Philippe seemed to be quite oblivious of anything happening around him, but Liselotte wasn’t. She once again nudged him in an attempt to get him to _shut the fuck up_.

This time, he actually turned towards her, practically _glaring_ at her. “ _What_?”

Liselotte gestured towards Philippe, not only her eyes wide, but they appeared to be reflecting something. A golden light? He couldn’t quite make it out. Once Lorraine had taken a proper look at him, he immediately deflated, some new emotion appearing in his eyes, one that Philippe couldn’t quite make out what it was. “Oh.”

“What?” The Bourbon frowned, not quite sure why the two others were staring at him like he was something they didn’t want to come into contact with. “What’s going on?”

“Philippe, you have just been claimed.” Liselotte said. "Turn around."

He did exactly what she had said, glancing at his own reflection in the building. He looked absolutely normal, like he usually did, except that there was a golden helm burning in the air above his head. He could see Chiron approach the three of them, a bright smile around his lips.

“Welcome home, Philippe Bourbon, son of Hades.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone has any questions as to why I chose the godly parents that I did, please don't hesitate to leave a comment and ask me some questions. I'm more than open to start a discussion on this!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the nice comments on the last chapter! They are certainly appreciated and absolutely made my night last night.
> 
> I hope that you like this chapter, enjoy the fluff while it lasts~

_Welcome home, Philippe Bourbon, son of Hades._

Nobody had ever talked to him like that, as if he truly had reached a place where he belonged. Philippe tore his eyes away from his reflection – and the sign above it – only to face Chiron. Tears were welling up in his eyes, no matter how much he wanted to hide them. He didn’t want to be known as that boy who cried on his first day at camp.

Luckily, Fabien stepped in and pulled all the attention away from Philippe, giving him some time to recover. “Another son of the big three! There have been quite a few of those running around over the last few years, haven’t there? First Percy, then Thalia and Nico, now Philippe… Please tell me there is no prophecy about him? I don’t think that I could bear knowing that he’s out there on a quest.”

“It has been a while since we have received a prophecy, Fabien.” Chiron spoke, trying to hide the worry in his voice. “We shall have to talk about this in the big house. How about we allow our newest camper to settle in with the help of Philippe and Liselotte?”

Though a few tears had spilled, by the time the attention was turned back to him, he had managed to wipe them away and compose himself once again. (Having Louis as a brother was good for at least one thing, then. He knew how to push his emotions away surprisingly fast – faster than anyone should be able to.) “That sounds delightful.”

The two adults nodded at each other before leaving the three campers alone. Philippe watched them walk towards the big house, as Chiron had called it, but his attention was pulled away from them before they could actually enter it.

“Bourbon… Is that like the French royal family? I thought they’d all died.” Liselotte turned towards him with a scrutinising look on her face, trying to read him but clearly unable to do so.

“My brother and I are the only ones left.” He shrugged nonchalantly. He had never really thought about it all that much. His brother was more obsessed with the family history than he was. “We moved to America so that Louis could go to that school he wanted to attend – I forgot the name – and I didn’t really have a choice but to follow him.”

“Does this mean that you can knight people?” Lorraine asked, raising an eyebrow Philippe, clearly checking him out now that he knew that the boy in front of him had a _lot_ of money. The son of Hades made a mental note that he would never be with someone like that, no matter how attractive they were.

As he wanted to reply, though, he was interrupted by Liselotte. “Even if he could, I doubt he’d knight _you_ , Lorraine.”

“What do you mean by _that_ , Elizabeth?” Lorraine’s attention was immediately fully diverted to Liselotte, who didn’t seem to mind it, going off the wide smirk that was tugging at the corners of her lips.

As the two friends bickered happily – neither of them were too mad about what was being said – Philippe left the two of them alone, deciding that he was going to settle into his own bunk. However, as he made his way back to the Hermes cabin on the other side of the circle, the two of them followed him there and without him even having to ask them, they collected the few items that he had unpacked and started carrying them back towards the Hades cabin.

As Philippe noticed that, he froze for a second.

Was this what friends did?

“Are you coming or not, Philippe?” Liselotte called out to him when she realised that he had stayed behind.

“We’re not going to carry everything _for_ you, I’m sure you have servants for that!” Lorraine grinned brightly – which caused Philippe to freeze again, but for a completely different reason.

“I think you broke him, Philippe.” Liselotte told the blonde haired demigod.

“He’ll come along when he’s ready, I’m sure of it. He can’t resist this body for much longer.”

The two of them laughed merrily as they continued on their way to Hades’ cabin, Philippe quickly running to catch up with the two of them.

Maybe this was what family was supposed to be.

 

\--~--

 

Later that evening, after he had settled in and the head councillors had showed him the entire camp, it was time for dinner. Lorraine looped his arm through Philippe’s as the trio made their way to what was supposed to be the cafeteria, only it was outside and all of the tables seemed to be those you’d find in the woods to picnic on. Philippe wondered if there was an alternative in case it rained, but decided that that was a question for later.

The weather was quite nice for the end of August, so as they reached the tables, he picked up a plate and glanced around for an empty table. They appeared to be arranged in a similar fashion to the cabins and while some tables were abandoned, most of them were filled with a large number of campers.

“Philippe!” It is a young girl who calls out to Lorraine, gesturing at him to come over.

“I’ll have to abandon you for now, my darling.” Lorraine patted Philippe’s shoulder, before making his way over to her table. (This shouldn’t sting as much as it did, Philippe thought as he watched Lorraine walk away.)

Liselotte attempted to get his attention by placing a hand on his arm, which worked. He sent her a quick smile, though there was a question visible in his eyes. “I’m going to have to leave you as well. The Athena table is over there—” She pointed at a table filled with mostly blonde-haired kids, who all seemed to be carrying books or tablets. Philippe didn’t want to judge, but he had a feeling that they were the ‘smart kids’.

“Are we supposed to sit according to our parentage?” He asked, frowning as he glanced around in search of his own table. There were no indications as to which table belonged to which god, but luckily, Liselotte pointed at his. It was empty, of course, just like his cabin, which Philippe didn’t mind. It would be nice to be able to have a little time for himself.

“Don’t forget to put a bit of your food in the fire over there—” She pointed at an altar like structure at the edge of the cafeteria – if that was what it was – before turning back to him. “—as an offering for the gods. It doesn’t need to be much, but the gods get kind of grumpy if you don’t.”

Philippe nodded, before allowing her to walk away as well and making his way over to his own table. After getting food and offering a small portion to the gods – as he had been instructed to do – he sat down and stared at his plate for a moment.

He wasn’t particularly hungry, he realised. He knew that he _should_ eat something, that he would end up regretting it if he didn’t, but the urge to do so was absolutely lacking. This happened more often than not when he was stressed or nervous, and if he was anything right now, it was that. He was sitting at camp, on his own, clearly still the ‘new kid’.

When he glanced around to take a look at his new ‘friends’ – he wasn’t entirely sure if they were or if they had simply hung around with him because Chiron had told them to – he noticed that most of the other campers were staring at him with a look that very much screamed ‘we don’t want anything to do with you but will still judge you’. Of course, the second that he looked at anyone, they turned their head away, too fast to be subtle.

 _Maybe I should give them something to stare at_ , he thought. _That could be fun._

He prodded the meat portion of his plate – he wasn’t sure what it was, but it was definitely not something he was familiar with – before putting down his fork. Eating was probably not going to happen tonight, so he just pushed his plate away, untouched.

Why was he here? Had he not been safe at home with Fabien protecting him? The son of Apollo – how easily he already thought of the bodyguard as one of _them_ – seemed to know what he was doing and he had been able to protect him for seventeen years, so why not any longer? The realisation that he wanted to go home, that he didn’t want to go back to that dark, cold bunk, hit him pretty hard.

As he closed his eyes, he could see his own room, including Bontemps and his brother, who were already debating what to do with it. (For a moment, he felt a pang of _missing_ that was aimed at his brother, which confused him as well.) He let out a soft sigh, wishing with all his heart that he could go back there, go back to the life he’d lead before yesterday. He could feel himself getting lighter, almost as if he was dissolving, so that he could reassemble somewhere else. He didn’t know what that feeling was, but it felt… good. Normal.

The feeling was only growing stronger and stronger until—

His eyes snapped open as he felt a hand on his arm, looking up to see both Lorraine and Liselotte sitting next to him. The daughter of Athena sent him a very compassionate smile, as if she had known exactly what was going on inside his head.

“The first day is always hard,” Lorraine said, attempting to make a joke out of it. “but to literally run away isn’t necessary, trust me.”

Philippe blinked a few times, not quite understanding what he was going on about. When he looked around a little more, he realised that absolutely _everyone_ was staring at him, including Fabien and Chiron, who were standing at the edge of the cafeteria area. “What—what happened?”

“You were getting ready to shadow travel.” Liselotte said, though that didn’t really help Philippe. “One of the powers that children of Hades have is the ability to manipulate shadows and travel between them. That kind of travel is called shadow travel.”

“I was—?” He swallowed tightly, feeling like an idiot now. He hadn’t intended to _actually_ try and leave camp, not really.

“We won’t take it personally, Bourbon.” Lorraine was still smiling, which Philippe didn’t quite understand. Didn’t his cheek muscles end up hurting after a while? “As I said, the first day is always the worst.”

“Are you okay now?” Liselotte’s look of compassion had changed into one of worry, which stung Philippe, but surprisingly enough in a good way. The last person who had looked at him like that had been his mother and she had died a long time ago now. He swallowed his tears away before nodding.

“You can go back to your tables now.” He said, glancing at the two people sitting next to him. “You don’t have to baby-sit me anymore. I promise I won’t try to run away again.” The chuckle that followed was unconvincing and even Philippe himself knew this.

The two exchanged a look, before turning towards him, both an eyebrow raised at him. They seemed pretty unimpressed with his attempt to get rid of them. However, rather than acknowledging this in any other way, they continued to talk as if he hadn’t said anything at all.

“What classes do you have tomorrow, Lorraine?”

“Archery and Pegasus riding.” The blonde-haired demigod answered. “Wait, it’s Thursday tomorrow, right? I tend to mix up my days here after a while.”

As the two of them continued to banter, Philippe pulled his plate a little closer once again and smiled to himself as he took a bite of his food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'm feeling it and I promised a friend of mine something very angsty, I might end up posting some historical angst later today.
> 
> Stay tuned!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't meant to be this long, but my fluff muse ran away with me, so have an extra long chapter!

The next morning, Philippe was awoken by the marble doors being swung open. A groan escaped him, since he had the feeling that it was way too early for his liking. Without opening his eyes, he rolled over, turning his back towards the sudden source of light. The already shadow-y corner that he had tucked himself away in appeared to become even darker, but that could be because the one who had infiltrated his sleeping quarters had closed the door again.

“Five more minutes, Bontemps.” He muttered, hiding away underneath his duvet. “Tell Louis I’ll be ready in twenty minutes.”

“That’ll be quite difficult, since I am not Bontemps and do not know this Louis you speak of.” The voice of the Chevalier penetrated the silence, amusement lining his words. “But your presence is requested, your highness, so I would suggest you get your beautifully formed arse out of bed and to breakfast.”

“What time is it?” He rolled over again, only to realise that without realising it, he had wrapped himself in shadows. With an annoyed wave of his hands, he tried to chase them away, but that wasn’t as effective as he wished it to be.

“Five to eight. Breakfast starts at eight.” The room was quiet for a moment before he continued to speak. “If you need any help getting dressed—”

A pillow was promptly launched into his direction, which Lorraine dodged, laughing.

As the door slammed shut once again, Philippe rolled over and yawned. Did he really have to get up? (The voice in the back of his head that sounded an awful lot like Louis scoffed at him and told him to get his lazy arse in gear. For some reason, that was enough to get him out of bed and dressed, though it had put him in a foul mood.)

He practically stumbled over to his table, prepared to sit alone once again, but both Liselotte and Lorraine were already sitting there, a plate filled with eggs and bacon and a mug of coffee ready for him. He couldn’t help but smile as he sat down between the two of them, quickly mumbling a ‘thank you’.

As soon as Philippe had stuffed a first forkful of food into his mouth, Lorraine leaned forward so that he could properly see Liselotte. “Do you know what Monsieur did first thing in the morning? He threw a pillow at my head!”

Said ‘Monsieur’ snorted at that, which only made Lorraine more determined to make himself the victim in this situation.

“I played the loyal servant and woke him up, made sure that he got here in time! And what is the thanks that I get? A pillow, thrown at my head.” He huffed in an overly dramatic way, as he tended to do. “All I did was offer to help him get dressed. I mean, I don’t know if he has learned to dress on his own. Based on the clothes that he’s wearing right now I’d say he hasn’t, but who am I to judge him?”

Liselotte stared at the two boys with a wide grin, wondering what Philippe would say to that.

“I know how to dress myself. At least I wear things that actually match and don’t give people a headache, which can’t be said of you.” He gestured at Lorraine’s outfit, which mostly consisted of red on top of more red.

“Ex- _cuse_ me?” He fake gasped as he placed a hand on his chest. “The people in Italy love this, alright? Everyone wears it over there!”

“We both know that that’s not the case, Lorraine.” Philippe smiled, before putting another bite of eggs and bacon in his mouth. His foul mood from before had already completely evaporated, which usually took a couple of hours, especially after getting up this early in the morning. (He still couldn’t quite believe that he was awake and functioning at eight a.m.)

“You mortally wound me, mignonette.” Pretending to faint, Lorraine let himself fall off the chair that he had been sitting on, though his fall was very controlled, of course.

“Is he always like this?” Philippe turned to Liselotte, who was at this point laughing at the other’s antics.

“I’m afraid he is, yes.” The fondness in her eyes confused Philippe for a moment, wondering whether the two of them were together or if he was simply reading too much into it. (Not that it mattered, because he was not going to allow himself to fall for anyone again, not after what had happened with Armand.) “However, you tend to get used to it after a while.”

“I can’t wait for that to happen.” Philippe joked, before holding a hand out towards Lorraine, who had been making noises of fake pain the entire time. “Come on, up you get. One would almost think that I’m _your_ servant.”

“Don’t give him any ideas, Philippe. You will definitely regret that.” Liselotte shook her head ever so slightly, though she was in no way disappointed.

“No, no, give me _all_ the ideas, my dearest Philippe. Especially things like that.” Lorraine pulled himself back up using the son of Hades’ outstretched hand. Their hands lingered a little longer than absolutely necessary, but they were snapped out of it by Fabien, who called out to Philippe from the Apollo table. He gestured at him to come over, so the ebony haired demigod quickly apologised before making his way over to his bodyguard.

“I need to return home. Bontemps has already called me multiple times that Louis is starting to ask where I am.” He sipped a cup of coffee as he spoke to the youngest Bourbon. “Can I believe you here on your own or will I find that you have shadow travelled home?”

A blush immediately spread across his face as Philippe looked down at his hands. He deliberately didn’t look at Marchal in a very unsuccessful attempt to hide his blush. “That was an accident. I didn’t know that I could do it and I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

Marchal raised an eyebrow at him, but nodded. “If you need me, I am only a phone call away.” Fabien gently took Philippe’s chin ins his hand, forcing the younger demigod to look up at him. “And if you want to come home at the end of the summer, know that you are always welcome. I know that Louis misses you, even if he doesn’t show it.”

“The end of summer is a long time away, Marchal.” He said softly, before getting up once again. Philippe glanced at his friends, who were staring at the two of them, undoubtedly guessing what Fabien was telling him. “And I think that I may have found someone worth staying for.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Philippe.” The bodyguard down the remainder of his coffee and got up as well, patting the youngest Bourbon’s shoulder. “Now, you should probably go finish your breakfast, because your first classes of the day are starting soon.”

After those words, Fabien made his way to the Apollo cabin, probably to collect his stuff and to return back home. Philippe sighed before turning around and walking back to the Hades table, where Liselotte turned around again, hiding that she had tried to follow the conversation. Lorraine, on the other hand, was unabashedly staring at the youngest Bourbon, a little smirk that told him exactly what he wanted to do around his lips. That blush from before still lingering on his cheeks, Philippe deliberately looked away, sitting down between the two of them and continuing his breakfast in silence.

“So what did he have to say to you?” Liselotte was the first one who couldn’t hold herself anymore. She was simply too curious. “Nothing too bad, I hope?”

“He’s going home again, to my brother. Apparently Louis has been asking after him, but not me.” That last sentence was almost whispered and thanks to a rather loud cheer from the Ares table, neither of his companions had understood what he had said. When he was asked to repeat it, Philippe simply waved it away.

Even though the others – especially Liselotte – kept asking, he refused to give in. Instead, he simply changed the subject. “He mentioned classes? Do we actually have to take those?”

This was a subject that Liselotte was actually rather eager to elaborate on, so she launched into a rambled explanation. “Yes! We have two classes every day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Usually, they’re something outside, like archery, sword fighting or something similar. They tend to have something to do with your godly parent, but for newbies they will be rather standard. The basics, so to speak. There are also a few other classes, like tactics and strategy, but those are usually for children of Athena or other demigods who express interest. I can see you, Lorraine.”

While Liselotte had explained all of that, Lorraine had – like the mature sixteen-year-old he was – raised one of his hands and was using it to mock her. He had created a little ‘puppet’ with his thumb as the jaw and the rest of his fingers as the rest of his head and had made it move along with Liselotte’s words. “That was my full intention, Liselotte.”

She rolled her eyes at him before turning back to Philippe, who was grinning brightly at the antics of his two friends. “Anyway, you will probably have sword fighting at nine and then something else at one. Maybe you’ll have Pegasus riding! I always love those classes, though the pegasi tend to get rather grumpy around me.”

“Have you ever held a sword before?” Lorraine asked Philippe, though the tone made it quite clear that he didn’t mean one of metal that was used for fighting.

However, the son of Hades completely ignored those undertones and nodded vigorously. “In an attempt to make me more ‘manly’, Louis sent me on fencing classes from when I was seven years old. Last year, people from the Olympics were even interested in me, but my brother shot them down. He couldn’t have his younger brother outshine him, now could he?” Philippe huffed softly. “Either way, I’ve always loved fencing and I know it’s probably not the same, but it’ll probably help, won’t it?”

Disappointed that Philippe hadn’t picked up on what he actually meant, the son of Dionysus decidedly ignored his statement.

“It definitely will!” Liselotte looked at him with wide eyes, surprised about that titbit of information about the other. “I assume that you also know how to ride a horse, then?”

Once again, Philippe nodded. “My horse is a beautiful grey with long manes and a few whiter spots around its sock area. I wish I could bring her here.” Letting out a soft sigh, he allowed his thoughts to wander home once again, though that wish to go there wasn’t as present as it had been the day before. “She couldn’t fly, though.” He chuckled softly.

“Oh Philippe, you’re going to love it here.”

 

\--~--

 

A little later that morning, he aced sword fighting. That afternoon, he did the same with Pegasus riding. In both those subjects, he was immediately bumped up to more advanced classes, which Liselotte assured him that evening, was not that uncommon. Apparently he wasn’t the only demigod who felt attracted to fighting classes and who did well in those.

“You should attend one of our strategy classes, Philippe.” Liselotte sat next to him, stuffing a vegetarian burger into her mouth – “You have no idea what’s been done to those animals or what kind of meat is inside those burgers!” – between her sentences. The result of this was that she was speaking with her mouth full, which neither of them seemed to mind very much. “I’m sure that you’ll enjoy it a lot.”

“Is she trying to recruit you too?” Lorraine arrived at the Hades table, a plate filled with a normal burger in his hand. He sat down, though Philippe was pretty sure that everything was still untouched. It stayed that way for at least a few more minutes until an older man joined the campers. He sat next to Chiron at the head table and before Philippe could ask who he was, Lorraine had already cut off a small portion of his meat and he threw it at the man.

It hit him square between the eyes, which caused his eyes to trail over the crowd, clearly looking for someone in particular. Once he had found Lorraine, he glared at the boy, who was just grinning at him. The look translated to ‘this is the last time you’re doing this, son’, while Lorraine’s grin was something that said ‘you can keep dreaming’.

Turning towards Liselotte with a confused look, she quickly finished her bite before explaining. “That is Dionysus, our camp leader and Phil—Lorraine’s father. He takes the offering to your godly parent a little too literal, so every time Mr. D joins us for dinner, he throws something at him.”

“Isn’t he scared that Dionysus is going to punish him for that at some point?” Both the god and his son were still exchanging glances that only the both of them seemed to understand. “I mean, I understand that Lorraine is his son and all that, but isn’t there a limit, even for demigods?”

“He’s been doing this for almost nine years now, so I don’t think that he’s got to worry about it.” Liselotte shrugged nonchalantly before turning back to her burger. Philippe continued to stare at the other Philippe and his father for a while, wondering what the story was behind the two of them. Well, maybe he’d find out later.

 

\--~--

 

The days at camp went by much faster than they ever had in the presence of Louis, Philippe soon realised. In the morning, Lorraine would come to his cabin to wake him up, get a pillow thrown at his head for whatever silly remark he would come up with that morning, and then he would leave again. After having breakfast with him and Liselotte, Philippe would go to his classes, where he soon became one of the best newbies.

After classes, the three of them would either end up sparring or exploring the woods under the disguise of guarding the camp boarder, before sharing dinner and partaking in whatever evening activity was planned. Once that was over, Liselotte would usually go to bed while Lorraine and Philippe would stay up talking until late in the evening.

 

\--~--

 

He had always been lanky, but throughout the weeks spent at camp, Philippe turned from skinny and lanky to skinny and quite brawny, thanks to all his time spent working out and doing sports. The first time he actually noticed it was three weeks after his arrival. Lorraine had changed into his cabin, but rather than leaving when it was time for Philippe to get dressed, he simply sat on one of the beds and looked at how the son of Hades got changed.

He no longer wore those expensive trousers – not after the first time he had torn them during fencing practice – but jeans that came pre-torn, so that if he ripped it some more, it wasn’t too bad. Besides, he could get ten of these pants for the price of one of those expensive pants, so it wasn’t as if he couldn’t afford them. On most days, he just wore one of the camp shirts,  covered by whatever Greek armour piece that he thought he’d need that day.

As he stood there in front of the mirror and reached for his shirt, he couldn’t help but notice just how toned his muscles had become. He turned to face his friend, a wide grin around his face. “Look at this, Lorraine.”

“That’s not so uncommon for new arrivals.” He paused as his gaze roamed Philippe’s naked chest. “I’ve been looking, you know.”

“Have you now?” With the biggest grin around his lips, he stepped closer towards his friend, while trying to flex without making it too obvious. “Have I given you enough to look at, Lorraine?”

“I’m not quite sure, Monsieur.” The nickname from the beginning of his time here had stuck, though Philippe had no idea why. However, since there were much worse nicknames, he didn’t mind. Too much, at least. “Why don’t you come all the way over here so that I can inspect you a little closer?”

Philippe had been ready to give in and practically jump on the bed with Lorraine – their relationship had both changed completely and stayed exactly the same over the few weeks that they knew each other, Armand completely forgotten – but a bleep from his phone distracted him. Realising that he hadn’t held the thing in a little over two weeks – it was a miracle that it still had any battery left – he decided to check it out in case his brother needed him.

“Sorry, Lorraine.” Philippe muttered as he picked the phone up. The second the screen lit up and revealed just how many texts and calls he’d missed, he bit his lip. It was _almost_ enough to make him feel guilty.

**Louis – last Tuesday**

Bontemps keeps giving me the vaguest replies about where you are.

Did you end up in a mad house? Or did the police arrest you for the murder of Henriette and Armand?

**Louis – last Wednesday**

You don’t have to ignore these, I know you’re getting them.

**Louis – last Saturday**

Fabien finally slipped up.

I will find this camp you’re at.

“Shit. Shit, shit, _shit_.” Philippe’s eyes widened as he realised what was happening. Louis was coming to destroy the one thing that was _his_ , the one thing he didn’t have to share. He showed a few of the texts to Lorraine who immediately started to read them out loud to the youngest Bourbon, giving commentary on them as he did.

“Oh, this is a good one, from Sunday: ‘I bet you’re hanging with other murderers right now.’ Wow, he’s really hung up over the fact that his girlfriend died, isn’t he?” Lorraine grinned as he continued to scroll down the list of messages, while Philippe decided to start pacing. “I don’t even know why you still have this thing, Monsieur, it’s not as if we actually use it a lot here.”

“To be able to check in with Bontemps and Marchal about Louis, that’s all.” He was chewing his lip, a nervous habit that he had developed when he was seven and that he had never managed to get rid of. “I barely check it.”

“I can see that.” He chuckled, before continuing to read the messages. “Oh, he’s found the location of the camp. I’m sure that he’s found it on the internet on one of those websites that’s littered with conspiracy theories. It’s right where he belongs.”

“That’s still my brother you’re talking about.” He glared at Lorraine for a moment. “As long as he’s not coming here, then everything’s fine. Then I won’t have to worry.”

“Mignonette…”

Philippe’s eyes widened. That wasn’t a good sign. “Please tell me he’s not coming here? Pretty _pretty_ please?” He snatched his phone out of his friend’s hand, before starting to read the messages for himself.

**Louis – yesterday**

I finally managed to convince Bontemps to take me to this camp.

I’m stepping by tomorrow.

You better have a reception worthy of someone of my status.

**Louis – three hours ago**

We’re on the road

**Louis – ten minutes ago**

Apparently we’re close. Get ready.

Without saying another word, Philippe threw the phone on the bed, before grabbing a random shirt – it was the same that he had worn the day before, which was covered in mud and even cut in the stomach area from where he’d almost been hit during sword fighting.

“I have to say, you need to wear shirts with a cut there more often, they show off your abs.” Lorraine chuckled, an appreciative look in his eyes. However, Philippe wasn’t in the mood for it.

“Go get Liselotte, I’m going to need all the support I can get.” He was throwing orders around without even realising he was doing so. When Lorraine didn’t react, however, he snapped at him. “ _Now!_ Before he gets here!”

“Aren’t you worrying over nothing, mignonette? He can’t even cross the camp boarders.” Lorraine chuckled, before rolling his eyes at his friend.

“You don’t know Louis yet. He’ll find a way. Trust me.”

And after those words, the youngest Bourbon stormed off towards the edge of camp, where he had first arrived with Marchal about three weeks ago.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halfway there. Well, technically a little over halfway.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Philippe could only _hope_ that he looked badass as he stood on top of the hill, flanked by his two friends – the best he’d ever had. His sword was hanging by his side in the hope of looking badass, though he wasn’t wearing any armour. (Mostly because he hadn’t had the time to do so.) He glanced over his right shoulder, at Lorraine, who had tied his hair back – as usual – into a messy bun, was also carrying a sword. He looked absolutely handsome and Philippe had quite some trouble as to not run to him and pull him in for a kiss.

Over the last few weeks, he had learned that Lorraine was single and very _very_ bi, but he had never exactly shown any interest. At least not that Philippe had noticed. (The result of this was that Liselotte was getting exasperated with the two of them, since she claimed that Lorraine was just as smitten as Philippe was, but the Bourbon was still not convinced.)

Liselotte on his other side was, in fact, wearing some armour. Her blonde curls were bouncing on her shoulders and she sent him the sweetest little smile as he glanced around to her. In turn, Philippe quickly winked at her, before a familiar voice called out to him.

“Brother!”

A sigh escaped him before he turned around, watching as Louis marched towards the border. He hadn’t quite reached the invisible line that could only be crossed by demigods or people invited into camp. And he was determined not to let him in. “What a surprise. Not even here can you leave me alone.”

Fabien was standing behind the oldest Bourbon, an apologetic look in his eyes. He mouthed a quick ‘sorry’, before glancing over his shoulder. Had he heard anything? Philippe decided not to pay attention to that, they were safe inside camp borders anyway.

“Come, brother. You are smarter than this, I know you are. Do you honestly think that I’m going to leave Henriette’s murderer alone?” Louis stepped forward, only to bump into the border. Placing his hands against it, he tried to push past it, but he clearly was unable to do so. Philippe couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m sorry, brother, but as you can see, you cannot truly make your way in, now can you? You’re not like me, like _us_. So you don’t get to go in.” The smug look on his face made it quite clear that he was fully planning on keeping it that way. “I would suggest that you leave again, before anything could possibly happen. Or, even worse, before people find out exactly where you are and why you are here. What have you told everyone about me, huh? That I died in that attack at school?”

“Philippe—” Liselotte placed a hand on her raven-haired friend.

However, he wasn’t stopping, not in the least. “Or that I lost it, killed a bunch of people and was then sent to an asylum? Tell me, brother!”

“My darling, maybe you should stop yelling at your brother and let him in.” Lorraine sounded worried, but Philippe was completely insensitive to it at the moment. All he could do was yell at his brother and everything else… He just couldn’t see it.

“Traitor.” Philippe hissed, but then he finally noticed it as well.

Another monster.

Louis seemed to register the creature at the same moment as Philippe, because he turned around, his eyes wide. “Philippe? What’s… What’s that?”

Fabien got a dagger out, already moving in front of Louis in order to protect him. “Your highness, a little help might be in order.”

If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Lorraine would have made a remark about that title, Philippe was sure of it, but he could see out of the corners of his eyes that both of his friends had drawn their weapons, waiting for him to give them the green light. After letting out a dramatic sigh – really, he shouldn’t even hesitate, it was his job to protect the camp – he nodded, before rushing through the border, drawing his own sword.

The three teens joined Fabien as they took a closer look at the monster. “It’s an Orthrus.” Liselotte whispered, almost in awe of the creature.

“It doesn’t matter what it is, Elisabeth.” Lorraine sounded unimpressed. “We’ve got to kill it before it gets any closer.”

It was already a miracle that the Orthrus hadn’t attacked any of them yet. It looked like a giant hound with two heads, almost like a hellhound. Its teeth were impressively sharp and if Philippe hadn’t had a sword in his hand that he knew would hurt it, he would have ended up eaten. He could imagine how Louis felt.

“Fabien, you stay with my brother! Lorraine, Liselotte, take the right head. I’ll take the left.”

Vaguely aware that Fabien moved closer to his brother, Philippe stepped forward, his eyes trained on the left head of the creature. They were waiting all waiting for the Orthrus to do something, to attack them, while the monster itself was waiting for _them_ to attack it.

“Philippe, you should invite your brother into the camp, he’ll be safe there.” Fabien said quietly, but before the youngest Bourbon could actually do that, the creature launched forward, his tongue snapping out of the left head’s mouth, aimed at Philippe’s head. Mostly out of instinct, he raised his sword and managed to cut it off.

A surprised gasp escaped him at this success – he had been good at classes, but he had never actually been in a real life situation where a second delayed could mean his death – but he didn’t stop, obviously. He swung his sword, aimed at the neck, in order to cut it off, but not only did the creature jump aside, it also snapped at Philippe’s arm.

“Brother!” Louis called out, a hint of worry lacing his voice.

“Shut up!” Philippe called right back, before launching himself forward, attempting to get on top of that damn creature. If he was able to do that, then— He missed, but only because the left head snapped at him and he had to jump backwards in order to not get hurt.

“Lorraine, Liselotte, distract it!”

The two more experienced demigods immediately started yelling at the Orthrus, getting the attention of both heads on them. Philippe grinned as he attempted to jump on top of the monster once again, his eyes scanning the monsters side for any foot holds. There were none. He managed to get halfway up when the creature shook his side, causing Philippe to lose all grip on its side. He fell to the ground, groaning softly as he arched his back in an attempt to get the branch that he had fallen on to stop pressing in his back.

“Philippe!” It was one again Louis who called out to him – and if Philippe closed his eyes, he could imagine him moving forward, attempting to rush at him. Fabien would definitely stop him.

“I’m inviting him in!” Marchal called out, but Philippe didn’t feel the need to react to that. Instead, the youngest Bourbon jumped back on his feet, though he still managed to evade the monster’s attention. As he glanced around, he could see that Louis was being ushered over the border, to safety. At least that was one less thing to worry about.

Nodding at Fabien, Philippe turned his attention back to the creature, before bracing himself to do something he hadn’t done since that first day of camp. He closed his eyes, wishing that he was on top of that monster. The stronger his wish was, the more he could feel his body dissolving. No longer could he feel his limbs, his chest, his head, like they were something tangible.

It was almost as if he had turned into smoke.

His way of seeing the world had changed as well – his field of view had evolved into something that was much more like a sensation than actual images reaching him. He could _sense_ where the monster was, where he wanted to be, and once he had reached that, he started to reassemble himself, force himself to turn back into a more human form.

As his field of view turned into something more limited and the familiar weight of his sword reappeared in his hand, he used his other to cling to the other’s fur. He managed to stay on top during the first attempt to shake him off, but he knew that he wouldn’t manage to stay there for another one, so he launched himself forward, raising his sword and perpetrating the left head. The force behind the sword was enough to slice through the Orthrus’ skill no problem.

Philippe was launched off as it collapsed, giving Liselotte the chance to slice the neck of the right head. As the monster took its last few breaths, it didn’t give up just yet. Flailing helplessly, as if it knew that it was about to die, it lashed out, somehow managing to hit Philippe and cut his chest in the exact same spot where the Laistrygonian Giant had hit him a few weeks back.

While that had been enough to cut him down the last time, this time, he stood strong, shadows enveloping him “Do you really think that that’s gonna be enough to take me down, you asshole?”

He could see the Orthrus’ eyes turn towards him, before all light disappeared from there. It was dead.

Only a few more seconds and the creature had completely disappeared, leaving nothing but one of its claws. Letting out a sigh of relief, he turned towards his friends. Lorraine glanced at him, but his focus was on Liselotte, who was laying on the ground. She’d been hit by the other claw, but she hadn’t been as fortunate as Philippe.

Turning towards the camp border, he called out to Fabien. “Get Claudine ready! We’re bringing in Liselotte!” He then rushed towards his friend, to _both of them_ , before placing a hand on Lorraine and Liselotte’s shoulders. “Prepare yourself. I’m getting you to the med bay without having to lift you. One thing, though, you might… get a little sick, though.”

Before either of them could protest, he allowed the shadows to engulf them once again. The feeling was slowly but surely starting to feel familiar – which he wasn’t quite sure was a good thing. He could feel his friends’ presences in the cloud that he had become as he moved through the park, faster than he had ever moved before. Once he had located a free bed and knew that Claudine Masson was close by, he once again turned from shadow to demigod,  Lorraine appearing right next to him, while Liselotte was on the bed.

“You’ll be fine now, Lotte.” Philippe whispered softly, right before Claudine rushed into the med bay, ushering the two boys away.

“I have no idea how you got here as fast as you did, Bourbon, but you did well.” The daughter of Asclepius smiled at him, before turning her full attention to Liselotte.

Relieved that she would be okay, that he had done everything that he possibly could to get her to a doctor, Philippe turned to Lorraine. His friend looked paler than usual, but he was sure that was because of the shadow travel and the fact that their friend got hurt by that Orthrus.

“I’m sorry, I’ve got to—” The other Philippe rushed out of the med bay, only to skid to a halt around the corner to throw up.

Philippe followed him, an amused little smile around his lips. “I told you that you might get a little sick.”

“You weren’t kidding.” He groaned, trying to keep himself from throwing up again. “Don’t ever do that to me again, okay?”

“Cross my heart.” He said softly, before walking closer to Lorraine , moving into his personal space. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, Philippe could fully feel the exhaustion that was wrecking through his body. He had never shadow travelled before, so he wasn’t sure if this was normal or if this was just post battle tiredness. “I just got to take a little nap first.”

Lorraine nodded, before gesturing back at the med bay. “Multiple beds at your service there, darling.  Or you can do that shadow thing again and get to your own bed.”

“I’m not sure that I can make that short trip.” Philippe admitted. “Besides, I have to deal with my brother first, I fear.”

Of course at that exact moment in time, Louis arrived at their location, marching towards the two teens. Exchanging looks, Lorraine straightened up again, ready to support Philippe in whatever way possible.

“Nap’ll have to wait, darling.” Lorraine said quietly, as both of them got ready for a fight that neither of them wanted to have.


	8. Chapter 8

“What the _hell_ was that thing out there?” Louis was already screaming and Philippe’s older brother had only just arrived.

Once again, the two teens exchanged looks the message to each other quite clear. _Let him yell, he’ll tire himself out._ All the youngest Bourbon wanted to do was sleep. It had been a long and exhausting day and it was only around lunch-time.

“It was a _monster!_ It had two heads, and it was… it was _huge!_ ” Louis had yet to actually accuse Philippe of something, but it was sure not to take that much longer. “You got hurt! And that sword, and—those shadows, how do you—?”

“You done?” Philippe sounded so absolutely done. He had no energy left to listen to him any longer. “One of my best friends is hurt, I could do with a visit to the doctor as well, and I just want to sleep. Is it okay if we postpone this goddamn argument?”

“Postpone?” The older Bourbon huffed, before rolling his eyes at his younger brother. “So you can shove me out of this camp once again? So that you won’t _ever_ have to deal with me anymore?” Louis laughed, which answered the questions asked more than any word could have . “We’re not postponing this. We are going to have a mature conversation where you are going to explain everything that’s happening here and just how you are different from me.”

“Listen, I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, ordering Philippe around like he’s your slave?” Lorraine could no longer look at the two brother going at each other without interfering. “He’s a son of _Hades_ , and a damn powerful one at that. You are going to apologise to him for addressing him like that—”

“Lorraine…” Philippe tried to stop him, but the other wouldn’t listen.

“—And then you are going to leave this camp and come back when he’s fully rested and in top notch condition.” Lorraine wasn’t done yet, he had more to say, but he had to take a breath. “Do you have any idea what he did today? Just how hard he fought in order to keep you safe? You should show some gratitude!”

“ _Philippe!_ ” The youngest Bourbon yelled in order to get his friend’s attention. “I appreciate you, I really do, but _shut the fuck up._ You’re not making things better.”

“So that is how you teach your friends to address me, huh?” Louis no longer sounded surprised or amazed. Now he was _angry._ “Do they have no respect for those of nobility?”

“Brother…” No longer did Philippe want to yell at him. He stepped closer, one hand held forward in an attempt to calm him down.

“Don’t you _brother_ me, Philippe. He needs to learn to respect his superiors.” Louis, who had been to those same fencing classes as his brother had, launched himself towards his brother, grabbed his sword, and then turned towards Lorraine. “I challenge you to a duel. You can either fight me like a man or run like the coward I know you are.”

“Louis, you are being an idiot. Put the sword down.” Philippe was trying desperately to end this. He glanced at Lorraine, trying to tell him not to draw his sword, to leave the challenge as is. “Philippe, _please_.”

“I take you up on your challenge.”

“Why am I surrounded by idiots?” He muttered, as he watched his brother and his friend step away from the med bay, draw their swords and get ready to fight. Philippe already knew who was going to win; Lorraine had been training for this his entire life. While Louis could fight, he was pretty sure that he wasn’t trained the same way that his friend was.

“Get ready for an ass whooping.” Lorraine grinned, that excitement, that adrenaline already starting to run through his veins. He was built for this, he was ready in an instant. Philippe could see it in his eyes, he knew exactly how excited his friend got in the face of a fight. He knew because they sparred every single day.

“Get ready to be destroyed.” Louis hissed, though his younger brother could see that his hands were shaking. He was the best chance at stopping the fight.

“Louis, we will talk about this later on, I promise. Just… Don’t do this. Don’t fight my friend, because he _will_ defeat you.” Philippe tried to appeal to Louis’ sense of self-preservation, but he wasn’t entirely sure if it was going to work. “Trust me, just this once. I know you usually don’t, but I promise that it’ll be worth it this time.”

Neither of them put down their swords. As usual, nobody was listening to him.

“Lorraine, don’t hurt him. Please, I’m begging you. I’ll do anything for you.” He knew that this was a bold thing to say, but it might be enough to get this fight to end. “And you know I’m serious about this.”

“You’re pathetic, Philippe. You really should shut up and leave the real men to take care of this.” Louis was the one who snarled at him once again, though neither of them had made a move just yet.

“He is more of a man than you are!”

Great, now he had the two of them yelling at each other again. So much better.

Philippe sighed dramatically, before turning his back at the both of them. If the two of them were determined to keep fighting, to destroy each other’s lives, then so be it. He wasn’t going to take part in it. He was quickly going to check up on Liselotte and then he would go to sleep, something that he should have done before this entire fight happened.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?” Lorraine immediately lost all interest in Louis – it was _almost_ as if he had only picked that fight to impress Philippe – and ran after his friend. “I was going to kick your brother’s ass for you!”

“And that was exactly the problem!” The youngest brother turned around, pointing at Louis, who looked absolutely smug about his ‘victory’. “Look at him! This is because of _you._ Go fix it!”

As Lorraine turned around to run back to Louis, the other grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer. “Don’t you dare hurt him, understood?”

“Yes, sir.” He rolled his eyes at Philippe before rushing back to Louis to finish that fight. The second that Lorraine raised his sword, however, the older Bourbon brother decided to throw his own aside, giving up on the fight altogether.

“I’ll be back. You can count on that.”

And with that, Louis turned around, signalled to Marchal to follow him – despite the fact that the man was talking to the doctor – and stormed off.

He couldn’t help but let out a content sigh as Philippe watched his brother storm away and leave him – and the camp – alone again. He wasn’t sure if he was glad that he was gone or if he wanted him to come back, so that he could understand.

Lorraine came running back towards him, a grin around his lips. “Did you see that, my darling? I didn’t even have to touch him in any way.”

“I’m incredibly proud of you.” He didn’t sound like it, though. He looked absolutely done with everything, but that might just be because he was so tired. “Now let’s check up on Liselotte, make sure that she’s alright and then I’m going to go sleep.”

 

\--~--

 

“As I’ve said many times before, I’m _fine_.” Liselotte insisted. She was sitting up on the bed, no signs of her injuries left. Ambrosia really was a cure-all. Sometimes, Philippe was still ridiculously amazed by how well it worked.

“Are you absolutely _sure?”_ It was Lorraine who seemed to fuzz more about her than Philippe. “It got you good.”

“ _Yes_ , I’m sure. Can you see any wounds on me anymore?” The daughter of Athena seemed rather exasperated with her friends, but it was all with fondness, of course. “I’m fine, thanks to Claudine. And Philippe, of course.” She turned towards him, the look in her eyes much softer than it had been before. “Thank you, by the way. How are you doing?”

She didn’t get a reaction from him, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder, snapping Philippe out of whatever had gotten into him.

“Philippe? How are you doing?” She repeated herself, hoping that she managed to get through to him this time.

“I’m doing just fine.” He mumbled, though he wasn’t fooling anyone. He was leaning rather heavily against Lorraine, who had wrapped an arm around his friend in order to keep him on his feet. “Just need a nap.”

“And maybe a doctor to look at those scratches on your chest. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.” Lorraine seemed to be sufficiently content with the state of Liselotte and this time turned towards his other friend. “Drink some ambrosia, it’ll do miracles for your energy and you’ll heal again, hopefully.”

“Yes, Bontemps.” Philippe was so dazed that he barely realised who was talking to him.

With a roll of his eyes, Lorraine gestured at Claudine, who immediately rushed over, a worried look on her face.

“Why didn’t you bring him in here straight away?” She scolded the other Philippe, before turning her full attention to the Bourbon. “Same injuries as Liselotte, I assume you also fought the Orthrus?” She didn’t need an answer to know, she had all the evidence she needed. “Have you shadow travelled recently?”

“He did it twice.” Liselotte sounded quite proud, which was something that Philippe would have appreciated, weren’t he about to fall over. “Took the two of us with him as well.”

“No wonder he’s almost falling asleep where he stands.” Claudine sighed, before pointing at the two boys. “Don’t let him go anywhere.”

“I don’t think he can.” Lorraine grinned cheekily, before turning his attention back to his friend and keeping him upright.

“And put him on a bed somewhere, for Zeus’ sake!”

 

\--~--

 

That evening, the trio sat around the campfire, telling the tale of their encounter with the Orthrus to the rest of the campers. Well, Philippe was mostly leaning against Liselotte, because even though he had been given as much ambrosia as a demigod could consume, his energy levels still weren’t quite on par with the rest of them. (Claudine had promised him that this would last a few days, that he would be excused of most of his chores until he felt better.) Liselotte, who was tasked with taking care of Philippe, did exactly that, remaining quiet through the entire ordeal.

But Lorraine? Well, he had had the time to consume some alcohol and had a story to tell.

“—And then the Orthrus roared at us, getting ready to pounce! I dodged his right head while slashing at it. I may have not hit anything but its whiskers, but the creature immediately knew that I was not to be messed with! Liselotte was busy with the right head, as Philippe had ordered us to do and then—well, you will never believe what happened next! This man—this son of Hades _shadow travelled_ for the very first time! He sat on top of the Orthrus, which was over twice his height, and drove his sword through its skull!”

He paused for a moment to take a sip of the wine that was appearing in his cup. If anything could be said about Lorraine, it was that he knew how to spin a tale. It may not be the most truthful telling, but it was the most exciting for sure.

“Once the fight was over and Philippe noticed that Liselotte was wounded, he shadow travelled with the three of us all the way to the med bay!”

Lorraine was still rambling on about what had happened that day when the youngest Bourbon drifted off to sleep, leaning on Liselotte’s shoulder.

 

\--~--

 

“Huh?” He woke up again, wrapped in a blanket with rather strong arms carrying him. His eyes slowly opened, looking up at Lorraine, who appeared to be carrying him.

“Hello there, handsome. Go back to sleep. I’m just bringing you home.” Lorraine’s voice was soft and gentle as he reassured the boy in his arms.

“Okay.” He muttered softly, allowing his eyes to slowly close again as he drifted off again.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, when Lorraine made his way into his cabin, Philippe rolled over and turned his back towards him. It was too early – as usual, he really wasn’t a morning person – even more so after the day he’d had. He knew that Claudine had told him to rest, but apparently that note hadn’t been passed on to his friend, because here he was, to get him out of his bed. He may not have opened his eyes to know just how late it was, but based on the light that was shining on him, it wasn’t much later than seven, maybe eight in the morning.

“Leave me alone.” He muttered, refusing to roll over so that he could face Lorraine. “It’s too early, I would like to sleep at least a few more hours.”

“Stop wrapping those shadows around yourself and get out of bed. It’s time for the afternoon class already and Claudine has sent me to get you out of bed.”

His reaction to the son of Dionysus’ was a groan as he finally moved – and opened his eyes. He did realise that he had, indeed, been pulling shadows closer, almost like a blanket, and immediately dismissed them. As he actually allowed the light to drift into the room, the afternoon light woke up him a little more.

Taking a deep breath, he swung his legs over the edge of his bed and jumped down, onto the ground. A yawn escaped him, but he knew that that was because of the deep breath that he had just taken in an attempt to reset his brain.

“What can I do to help you wake up?” Lorraine looked at the son of Hades rather amusedly, stepping a little closer to him in case Philippe would lose his balance. However, his friend managed to stay upright as he stumbled over.

“Kiss me.” Philippe’s filter was clearly not in place yet, because as soon as he realised what he had said, a bright blush spread across his cheeks, finally adding some colour to his cheeks.

“I thought you’d never ask.” That clearly wasn’t the reaction that the son of Hades had expected to get, because his blush turned even brighter, especially when Lorraine stepped closer and into his personal space. “And I haven’t exactly been subtle with my hints.”

The son of Dionysus gently cupped Philippe’s cheek, his movements deliberately slow, to give the other the chance to pull away if it turned out that this wasn’t what he wanted after all. However, he didn’t pull back, he stayed exactly where he was, since this was what he wanted more than he had ever thought he would want someone.

Kissing with Armand had been fun, but it had always lead to something more. The two of them had never kissed just for the sake of _kissing_. What he was doing now with Lorraine… It was something completely different. They were exploring each other’s mouths, while their hands slowly discovered each other’s bodies, but there was no urgency. While there was a voice in the back of Philippe’s head that informed him that he had classes he had to attend, it was so easy to ignore it all.

When Philippe pulled back, he couldn’t help but yawn again, sending the two of them off into a fit of giggles.

“Am I boring you, my dear?” Lorraine asked, though that amusement still sparkled in his eyes.

Philippe immediately shook his head as vigorously as he could, determined not to allow his friend to think that that had anything to do with his yawn. “I could do with another nap.”

“I cannot allow you in good conscience to go back to sleep. You have to eat, at least. And—” Lorraine hesitated for a moment. “—maybe kiss me again?”

He sounded unsure, but there was absolutely no reason for that. The youngest Bourbon stepped closer and pulled him close for another kiss, though this one didn’t last as long as the first one – though that was mostly because Philippe’s stomach grumbled rather loudly. Now that he had woken up a little more, he realised that he had grown quite hungry.

How long had it even been since had eaten anything even? He didn’t remember having dinner and at the campfire, he had fallen asleep quite fast.

After a chuckle from the two of them, a few more seconds stood there, pressed together, the two of them turned their head as the door opened. In the doorway stood Liselotte, a surprisingly gentle smirk around her lips.

“You finally got your shit together, huh?” She shook her head fondly at the two boys, before gesturing at the world outside. “Are you ready to face the rest of camp or do you need a few hours? I was sent to get you up and about, Philippe, on Claudine’s orders, but that was mostly to wake you up for at least an hour.”

“Only an hour, huh?” Both of them were surprised, but it was Lorraine who voiced it. “There’s so much that we can do in an hour.”

He waggled his eyebrows at Philippe, which caused him to roll his eyes. “Just because we’ve kissed twice doesn’t mean that we’re going to hop into a bed together and spend the entire day there.” After a quick pause, he whispered into Lorraine’s ear. “We can do that in a few days, perhaps.”

After a wink from the other, the two demigods made their way over to Liselotte, ready to face the rest of the day.

 

\--~--

 

When exhaustion hit again, briefly after dinner, Philippe made his way back to his cabin. (Lorraine had tried to come along for some ‘alone time’, but Dionysus had called out to his son and called him over – probably to have a conversation about the fact that he had been throwing food at his father _again_ during the entire meal, and not just once – so Philippe was on his own.

Lorraine had promised that he would step by a little later to check whether Philippe was still awake or not, but the son of Hades doubted that he would still be in the mood to deal with him.

As he walked into his cabin, yawning, he realised that someone else was there.

“What do you think you’re doing here? This is the Hades cabin and last I checked, I’m the only Hades kid who stays at this camp.” He may not have that much energy, but he was never too tired to defend his territory – this new person should ask Louis, he had been thrown out of Philippe’s room more than once at three a.m., when he was being annoying.

“Doesn’t make you the only one who’s ever stayed here, brother.” As the newcomer moved out of the shadows, Philippe could see him a little better.

They shared the same pale skin, along with the dark hair, although the Bourbon’s hair was curlier and messier than the stranger’s. He looked a lot younger than Philippe was, but that might be because he wasn’t as tall as he was. Height often made a big difference as to what age you are perceived.

As he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at him – his exhaustion completely forgotten – before challenging him with a small shake of his head. “If you’re my brother, how come I’ve never heard of you?”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but people don’t really like children of Hades. We’re not trusted by most of the campers.” The stranger jumped down from the top bump that he had been sitting on, holding a hand out towards his half-sibling. “I’m Nico di Angelo.”

“Philippe Bourbon.” He took the other’s hand and shook it, though it wasn’t as confident as he wanted it to be. “Pleasure to meet you, I’m sure. Why are you here only now and not before? I’ve been here for over three weeks now.”

“I tend to travel between the different camps and the Underworld, depending on where they need me.” Nico shrugged. “My boyfriend told me you had popped up, so I decided to come and say hi.”

“Well, consider that done. Can I go to sleep now?” Philippe’s annoyance was spiking – it was almost as if he was dealing with Louis, but without the insults being thrown at his head constantly. (He could probably learn to like this half-brother, if he actually gave him a chance.)

“It’s only seven, why would you go to sleep already?” There was no mocking behind that question, Nico genuinely seemed curious as to why his brother already wanted to go to bed this early in the evening.

“Doctor’s orders. There was an attack yesterday, thanks to my brother.” He practically stomped over towards his bed, before grabbing his pyjama’s – silk, thank you very much, he still had _some_ comfort that he allowed himself – and making his way over to the bathroom. Nico followed him, though he remained outside of the bathroom, talking to him through a closed door.

“Is there another one of us? Will didn’t tell me about him.” The other Hades kid genuinely seemed to believe that _another_ brother had popped up.

Philippe had never been so happy to disappoint someone. “No, no, _my_ brother. Human. We share a mother, but not much else. A name, maybe, though I’m pretty sure that he wishes that was not the case.”

“Oh.” Philippe wasn’t quite sure if Nico sounded glad or disappointed at the news. “Why are you under doctor’s orders to rest so early in the evening?”

The door opened again, only to reveal Bourbon standing there, brushing his teeth, dressed in his silk pjs. “I took on a bit too much. Gotta recover.” He mumbled around the toothbrush – and even though he was as careful as he could be, toothpaste still went flying absolutely everywhere.

“You shadow travelled for the first time.” Nico seemed to know exactly what Philippe was going through, which wasn’t that surprising. After all, he had probably gone through the same thing when he was younger.

“Twice, actually.” Philippe said, before spitting his tooth paste into the sink and walking out into the general area again. “Taking my friends with me the second time as well.”

“How are you not completely passed out right now?” Nico sounded impressed, as he sat down on one of the empty beds as Philippe crawled in his own.

Wrapping his duvet around him and letting out a soft yawn, he shrugged. “Do you think I know? I only travelled from right outside of the camp into the camp. It’s not as if it’s the furthest distance.”

“Well, I’m going to let you sleep then.” Nico glanced at the door. “I’ll—see you again _some_ time.”

“Alright, bye.” And just like that, Philippe allowed himself to drift off into sleep.

 

\--~--

 

A few hours later, the door slowly opened. Philippe opened one eye, just to check who exactly had just entered his bedroom. This was a technique that he had perfected at home, when Louis would try to get some of the things that he had gotten for his birthday. He realised that it was just Lorraine and closed his eye again. “Mornin’.”

“It’s almost midnight.” His friend – boyfriend? – sounded drunk, but when wasn’t he? “That’s _no_ where near the morning.”

“I woke up, so it’s morning for me.” Philippe rolled over, his white arms slowly appearing from underneath the duvet and making grabby hands.

Lorraine made his way over, into the son of Hades’ reach, who immediately pulled him into the bed along with him. There were no sounds of protests from the son of Dionysus as he was dragged under the covers. A soft kiss was exchanged, before the two of them drifted off to sleep again, barely realising what they were doing. It just felt natural.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was that a kiss? Was that a canon PJO character?
> 
> G a s p. It's the only one I've planned to appear, though, just so you know.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am writing as fast as I can, but I fear that I may not manage to finish this story before I leave for the UK. If that is the case, you might have to wait for about a week before I can post the very last chapter.
> 
> I will try my best to finish the chapters -- only three to go, which should be manageable in two days, but I have to find the time to actually write it. If I can manage to write two chapters today, one in the morning and one in the afternoon/evening, I'll be fine. If not, you'll have to wait for the conclusion (:
> 
> You'll get an update on this situation tomorrow.

That morning, it wasn’t Lorraine who stormed into his cabin to wake Philippe up. In fact, nobody really came to wake him up, so as he opened his eyes, rolled over in bed and made contact with another body. For a moment, his eyes widened, wondering what the hell had happened the previous evening. Had he—? No, he can’t have, he wouldn’t let himself do that. Especially since he hadn’t had ‘the conversation’ with Lorraine yet.

As he slowly rolled over to take a look at the other, he realised that it was Lorraine – a vague memory of him coming in around midnight popped up in his head – and that he still had all his clothes on. (Philippe wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed. Mostly relieved, probably.)

Nudging the still sleeping son of Dionysus, he couldn’t help but smile at how the sleepy teen rolled over, his eyes slowly opening. “Morning, Philippe.” He whispered.

The Bourbon chuckled softly and pressed a soft kiss to the other’s forehead. “Good morning, Philippe. What time is it?”

“I have absolutely no idea.” Lorraine chuckled, wrapping his arms around him. “However, now that we are stuck in this world of ‘it might be early or it might be late, but we have nothing on our plate’ – did you hear that rhyme there, by the way? – can I ask you a question?”

He rolled over onto his stomach, glancing at the other. He leaned onto his hands, pushing himself up a little. “Is that the question?” He raised an eyebrow, trying to keep that smile from spreading across his face.

“What? _No_. I just—” Lorraine grew quiet, glancing away from him. Philippe immediately leaned forward, worried, but mostly confused about what was going on. “Are we—what are we doing?”

“We—” He said, as relief rushed through him. He moved his hand to boop Lorraine’s nose as he spoke. “—Are having fun. Does that answer your question?”

“Are you my boyfriend now?”

Philippe got to see a side of Lorraine that he didn’t see all that often: he was insecure. He wasn’t sure if he was reading too much into it, but the son of Dionysus suddenly wasn’t the funny and charming guy that the youngest Bourbon usually saw. So as he spoke, he made sure that he sounded as reassuring as he possibly could. “Yes. If you want me to be your boyfriend, then I am.”

The two of them smiled at each for about a second before they closed the remaining distance between them and shared another kiss. This one was slow, yet passionate, but mostly just a way to communicate to each other just how happy they were without using words.

They didn’t pull apart for anything but air until someone coughed politely in the doorway. Philippe glanced up to see who it was.

“Dionysus wants to see you.” Liselotte seemed surprisingly unimpressed. “You better get your ass over there. And Philippe? Claudine wants you to check in with her.”

The two boys grinned apologetically at her, before slowly getting out of the bed that they had been cuddled up in, before starting to make their way to start the new day.

 

\--~--

 

“You should give him another chance, Philippe.” It was Liselotte who ended up sitting with him that lunch – Lorraine was too busy with a chore for his father, apparently – and who was urging him to contact his brother again. “Right now, his world has been turned upside down and he is terrified that he is going to lose his brother, especially to a man as handsome as Lorraine.” The faintest of blushes appeared on her cheeks as she said that, though she quickly placed a hand on her friend’s arm. “Don’t tell him that, okay? He’ll become insufferable.”

Despite the previous topic of the conversation, Philippe couldn’t help but laugh softly, rolling his eyes at her. “I won’t. His ego is already big enough, it really doesn’t need any inflating.”

“You’re a dear.” She grinned, before picking up the earlier subject seamlessly. “Point is, Louis might be incredibly annoying at times and I don’t doubt that he has tried to manipulate you in so many ways, but right now, he’s just a lonely man. At least promise me that you’ll consider it?”

A dramatic sigh escaped him – because Philippe was nothing if not that – before he glanced at his pocket where his phone was hiding from view. After Louis turning up at camp without much of a warning, he wasn’t going to take a chance to have that happen again, so he carried it with him at all times now, no matter how many times people – just Liselotte, really – told him that it attracted more monsters and that it was very dangerous to keep it on his person. His brother had managed to surprise him once, not again.

“I’ll take your silence as an ‘I’ll consider it’, then?” Liselotte chuckled softly, the look in her eyes making it very difficult for Philippe to believe that she was actually two years younger than him. She seemed so much more mature than he could ever hope to be.

“Yes, alright, I’ll call him.” Philippe dug his phone out of his pocket, already going through his contacts to Louis’ number – somehow it had never made it into his ‘favourites’ list, or the list that showed the people he communicated most with, mostly because their texts and calls were mostly one-sided.

He stopped when Liselotte placed a hand on top of his. “Not like that, it’ll be too dangerous.” Before Philippe could tell her that she was being ridiculous or that he didn’t have another way to contact him, she got out a gold coin. “I’ll only gift this to you once, since I’m pretty sure that you can more than afford yourself some of these coins. This is a drachma. You use it to pay some Greek gods, who haven’t exactly adapted to the modern style of life. One of these gods is Iris. She allows us to call those we care about in a safer way than cell phones can.”

“So you expect me to call Louis using this coin?” He raised an eyebrow at her, surprised at what she had just told him. “Along with giving him a heart attack because of the use of magic?” He _actually_ had to consider this for a moment, before shrugging. “Sure. Why not.”

After watching her set up everything – she grabbed a spray bottle of water and wiggled the gold coin at him – she created a veil of thinly sprayed mist and spoke quite loudly – enough for other demigods to glance in their direction, at least. “Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow. Please accept my offering.”

As a rainbow appeared, Liselotte turned to him, gesturing that it was now his turn to talk, that this was where he was supposed to say the name of the person he wanted to contact. “Uh—show me Louis Bourbon, please.”

The rainbow disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, quickly replaced by an imagine of Louis staring at his phone. One of his uni books was lying open next to him, but he didn’t seem to be paying much attention to it. Did Philippe see that correctly and was there a tear—?

Before he could wipe it away, Philippe coughed softly, trying to hide the satisfaction it gave him to see his brother jump. “Dear lord, brother!” Louis exclaimed in an indignant manner, though he was trying to hide the state he was in. “Can’t you ever call like a _normal_ person?”

“Last time I checked, Louis, I wasn’t a normal person. But it’s nice to see you too, an absolute pleasure.” That first accusation was enough to put Philippe on the defensive, but after a nudge from Liselotte, he grumbled softly before letting his gaze drift to the ground. “I wanted to apologise.”

“What was that?” The demigod wasn’t quite sure whether his brother was just being an arse or if he _genuinely_ hadn’t understood him, but it didn’t help improving his mood. “Did you just say you wanted to _apologise_ to me?”

“Don’t let it go to your head, brother.” Philippe once again sounded annoyed, he just wanted him to _shut up_ and act like a normal person for once. “When you’d come to camp, I was surprised and nervous and unbelievable exhausted, so I was a bit of a prick. I’m sorry.” When he didn’t get a reaction from his brother, he simply went on, continuing to talk. “Can I make it up to you?”

Louis glanced around, as if he had heard a noise coming from behind him and needed to hide Philippe somehow. “How?”

“Why don’t you come to camp? And this time you can actually experience it the way it is supposed to be, without any monster attacks.” Philippe knew that he couldn’t promise that, but he could try his damn hardest to avoid anything like that happening again.

“Yeah alright. Listen, I really have to go now, she’s coming—” Before either of the demigods could wonder who it was that was coming, the door to Louis’ room flew open, revealing Maria Theresa. The older Bourbon immediately jumped up, backing into the rainbow that was no doubt displaying Philippe’s image for him.

“Louis, don’t—!” Liselotte called out, but it was already too late. The human had made contact with the veil of mist that made it possible for the two of them to communicate and that caused the image to evaporate completely.

The two of them stared at the spot where mere seconds ago, they had had a look into the older Bourbon’s life, and where nothing but grass remained.

“That was disappointing.” Liselotte was the first to break the silence, turning to Philippe with a raised eyebrow. “Is he always like that?”

Those words were such a mirror of what Philippe had asked her on his first day about Lorraine that he couldn’t help but chuckle softly. “I fear he is, yes. Though usually he makes me want to rip my hair out even more.”

“Well, at least you’ve called him.” She turned back towards the table, where their plates were being collected. Philippe, on the other hand, remained seated as he was, his back leaning against the edge of the table, still staring. “Hello, ground control to major Tom?”

When the son of Hades didn’t react, Liselotte just let him be and turned back to her lunch, humming softly under her breath. He was snapped out of it by a surprise visit from his boyfriend, who plopped right down onto his lap without a word of warning.

Philippe almost threw him off, mostly because he wasn’t used to anyone doing that, but as soon as he realised who exactly was sitting there, he just rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around his waist. “How was your father?”

Lorraine groaned. “A little worse and he’d be as bad as your brother. Do you know what he has said?” He didn’t even give Philippe the chance to reply – not that the son of Hades had expected that or anything, he knew him by now. “I _can’t_ sleep in your cabin anymore! Can you believe that? I certainly can’t!”

“You’re being overly dramatic, Philippe.” Liselotte said, though there was more than just a little bit of fondness in her voice. “I’m sure that the two of you will find a solution for this little problem of yours.”

“I’ve already come up with one! He may have forbidden me from sleeping in the Hades cabin, but he hasn’t said a word about where Philippe gets to sleep. So, my dear, tonight we’re sleeping at mine.”

The son of Hades had been surprisingly quiet through this entire ordeal – he knew that letting him rant was often more effective than talking back at him or protesting – and shrugged. “As long as we get to sleep together.”

It wasn’t until Liselotte looked at him in horror and Lorraine in surprise and amusement that Philippe realised what exactly he had said. A blush crept up onto his cheeks, but he didn’t bother correcting himself.

 

\--~--

 

“Henceforth, every day that I don’t touch you.” Kiss. “Taste you.” Kiss. “Feel you.” Kiss. “Will be a day of death and mourning.” Lorraine let his fingers trail down Philippe’s naked stomach as the two of them remained in bed.

“Hmm?” He wasn’t exactly paying attention to what his lover was saying, still too lost in the feeling of contentment that was spreading from every place that Lorraine touched. “That’s sweet, my dear.”

“Do you want to sleep now?”

“By Zeus, yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hadn't meant to actually put that last scene in, but I was watching clips about Versailles on youtube and one of them was the scene from season 1 where Chevalier breaks down and says those exact words to Philippe, so I couldn't help but use them in a slightly more happy setting (:


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a fluffy chapter.
> 
> I have nothing left to say.

It took a couple of days before Louis got back to him. Philippe was glued to his phone, much to Lorraine’s chagrin, who kept trying to get him to let it go, over and over again, mostly by just snatching it out of his hands. After a while, he grew tired of it. Next time Lorraine would think about snatching his phone, he was going to make sure that he would know that it was off limits.

 Louis’ first text on the subject of coming to camp arrived not too long after Philippe’s decision. He was sitting in his cabin, on one of the few _properly_ comfortable sofas around camp. A book in his lap and his phone in his hands, the youngest Bourbon spent a few minutes texting back and forth with his brother.

**Louis – 15:36**

Does your invitation to come visit you still stand?

**Philippe – 15:39**

Yes.

I will have to discus it with Chiron, but yes.

**Louis – 15:48**

Chiron is the horse-man who looks like he belongs in a Harry Potter movie, is he not?

I looked him up. Impressive track-record. Apparently he taught Achilles.

**Philippe – 15:50**

He’s a good teacher.

But yes, that is him.

When would you be free?

**Louis – 16:02**

A couple of days.

Preferably during the weekend, since I’ve got classes.

**Philippe – 16:03**

Ones you actually go to?

Philippe could almost imagine the annoyed scoff that would escape his brother at that. He was almost sorry that he wasn’t able to see it. Not that it mattered – he had been at the receiving end of those scoffs more than enough – but still, it would be wonderful to see it again.

He sat there for a while, staring at his phone, trying to process all of this. He hadn’t moved an inch when the marble doors swung open – seriously, where did he get the strength from to swing them open like that? They were _heavy_. Before Philippe had the chance to put aside his phone and his book, Lorraine had stormed in and launched himself into his lap.

Stealing a kiss or two before realising that the older demigod was in no mood for it, Lorraine pulled back, raising an eyebrow at his boyfriend. “What’s going on? Are you clinging to your phone again?”

Before Philippe could stop him, the other had snatched the piece of technology from underneath his butt – because of course that was where it had ended up being – and unlocked it. Since it immediately opened to text from Louis’, it didn’t take much for him to realise what was going on. He immediately started reading through the texts – something that the Bourbon boy certainly wanted to yell at him for – before starting to type something out.

**Philippe – 16:08**

U know what? I got my hands more than full with my wonderful and perfect bf, I don’t need u anymore. Piss off.

After Lorraine had hit sent, he jumped off Philippe’s lap, attempting to get away from his boyfriend, because the expression on his face made it perfectly clear that he had made a mistake. In fact, it was probably best to get away from him as fast as he could. Lorraine threw the phone at the other, hoping that it would distract him for long enough so that he could get away.

However, it didn’t quite work out like that.

Much to the surprise of both people present, Philippe allowed the phone to fall to the ground and instead stormed after his boyfriend, grabbing him by the collar and stopping his attempt to run away from what he had done.

“How _dare_ you?” Philippe wasn’t yelling, not yet, but he had made it quite clear that if Lorraine wasn’t very careful, he’d end up with a punch thrown at him. “That is an _invasion of privacy_.”

“Well, it’s not as if I said anything that you weren’t already thinking.” Lorraine swallowed tightly, before pulling himself free from his boyfriend’s grip and starting to take steps back.

It didn’t help that every time he took a step back, Philippe followed him, the look in his eyes darkening as he did. The shadows around him seemed to intensify as his mood deteriorated. Usually, the son of Hades had control over his powers, except when he was asleep and having a nightmare, but at this moment in time—? His emotions were so strong that the world around him seemed to move to adjust to his mood.

“Listen, Philippe, _my darling_ , can we please—” Before Lorraine could finish his sentence, he tripped over his feet, falling backwards onto his arse. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, please—” Some tears were threatening to spill, which caused Philippe to stammer back, caused him to realise what he was doing.

The shadows immediately disappeared and whatever was plaguing Lorraine left his field of view.

The anger now gone and replaced with worry, the younger Bourbon fell to his knees next to his boyfriend, taking his hand in his. The usual feeling of being tired that came along with using his powers hit him, which made him suspect that he had done something stupid, something he hadn’t meant to do.

“ _Philippe_.” Lorraine practically begged as he pulled the other closer, moving his free hand to run it through his dark curls. “Please don’t leave me, I can’t—”

“Shh, my love.” Absolutely and completely confused about what the hell was going on, he found himself pulling Lorraine closer, back into his arms, the previous anger and annoyance that he had felt already forgotten. “I’m not leaving you, I never—why do you think that I ever would?”

The blonde-haired demigod looked up, his eyes wide with not only surprise but also confusion. “You just told—” Slowly but surely, realisation seemed to hit him, but Philippe was still as clueless as ever.

“I didn’t say a word.” He stammered, unsure as to what the hell had just happened to his boyfriend. Was someone else messing with him? With the both of them? If so, he wouldn’t rest until he found whoever dared to do so.

“I think—” Lorraine took a deep breath, clearly attempting to collect himself once again – this was proved by the fact that he wiped away the few tears that had threatened to spill – before continuing. “You can control people’s fears…”

“I think you’re saying complete and utter nonsense at this point, Lorraine.” He didn’t want to believe that he could, because he knew for a fact that nobody would want to be around him anymore if this kind of manipulation could become a regular thing. However, he had seen what had happened to his boyfriend and it could only be explained by what he had just said. “Is it even possible for me to—y’know, do that?”

“There’s one person who’ll be able to figure that out.”

The two of them exchanged looks, before Philippe helped Lorraine back on his feet and the two of them left the cabin, the argument already completely forgotten.

 

\--~--

 

“It’s called phobikinesis.” Liselotte said. It had taken the two boys quite some time to find her again, though they had barely spoken during their search, except for important things about places to go look for her. The two of them sat next to each other, in front of the daughter of Athena, who was typing away on a tablet. “It can bring someone’s deepest fears into reality and in some extreme cases even drive them insane.”

Once again, the two of them exchanged a look, though Philippe made sure that it was an apologetic one this time. He hadn’t known that he was able to do that, he hadn’t _meant_ to scare his boyfriend like this. If anything, he had only been trying to make him apologise for sending that text to Louis.

_It had worked, hadn’t it?_

Pushing that awful thought to the back of his mind, he turned his attention back to Liselotte. “So what does that mean? I can’t lose my temper or I’ll drive Lorraine insane at some point?”

“My father’s the god of madness, Monsieur, I’m sure that I’m at least a little immune to madness.” ‘Or born with it’, was heavily implied. Though that might just be Philippe reading too much into things.

“It is in fact surprising, Lorraine, that you have never been able to manipulate someone’s fears like that. Usually, the children of Dionysus have that exact power as well, though in a lesser degree than their father, of course.” Liselotte was doing her absolute best to find out as much as she could about this new power that had ‘suddenly’ popped up. “Well, your other potential power is being able to make grape vines grow.”

“Great! So Philippe can travel through shadows and make people tremble with fear in front of him and all I get to do is make grapes grow faster.” It was an attempt to lighten the mood, clearly, especially with the grin that came with the remark.

“Don’t pretend that you don’t love that, Lorraine.” Liselotte teased him, nudging him gently with her toe, as they did so often.

“More grapes does mean more wine, doesn’t it?” He chuckled, before turning back to Philippe, since he had remained quiet for a while. “Mignonette?”

“Hmm?” He glanced up, since he had clearly been lost in thought. Philippe was genuinely surprised that the two of them were sitting this close to him, that they hadn’t run away screaming just yet. However, he wasn’t going to voice that, in case that they were going to take his idea to heart and run after all.

“Drachma for your thoughts?” Lorraine said, the fear now replaced with worry.

“That’s a bit too much, don’t you think?” Philippe chuckled, changing the subject ever so slightly. “Unless you _want_ me to get richer than I already am?”

“See? I knew that I put up with you for a reason.”

What started as a rather difficult conversation ended in laughter between three friends, nudging each other and grinning brightly.

 

\--~--

 

That evening, Philippe returned to his cabin on his own. He had made Lorraine promise that he would go to his own cabin – as to not aggravate Dionysus further – so as he walked in, it was absolutely silent. He made his way over to the sofa, picking up his book and putting it back where it belonged in the first place.

He turned around to look around the room, his eyes falling to the ground and spotting his phone.

_Louis._

Shit.

Quickly picking it up and going back to the messages app, he read through the texts that he had missed from his brother.

**Louis – 16:09**

What?

Philippe, I expect an apology right now.

What is going on there?

**Louis – 17:58**

You can forget that I’m ever coming to that stupid camp of yours.

Cursing softly under his breath – he had learned so many new and creative ways to curse – he immediately started to type out a new text to his brother.

**Philippe – 22:45**

Lorraine kidnapped my phone and sent you that message. I never meant to send you that.

Please reconsider?

I don’t want to lose my brother over him.

**Louis – 22:59**

I’m free next weekend. Marchal will be driving me.

Unaware just how tense he had become after not getting a message from his brother for almost fifteen minutes – longer than he was usually away from his phone – it hit him once he let out a sigh of relief. At least Lorraine’s text hadn’t ruined things. It may have come incredibly close, but he had been able to fix everything just in time.

He put his phone on his night stand before laying back and closing his eyes. However, he didn’t allow himself to drift off to sleep just yet, deciding to reflect on what had happened during the day. He had discovered some new powers – and the more he did, the more he realised why children of Hades didn’t have such a good reputation throughout history. A great example was his half-brother Nico: he had managed to save the world, yet he was still shunned from Camp Half Blood, merely because of his parentage.

Louis might not like him all that much, he was still his brother and at least he wouldn’t make such harsh decisions, only because of his father. That was mostly the reason why he decided to text his brother back, to send him one last text even when he usually wouldn’t have.

**Philippe – 23:03**

I’m looking forward to it.

Sleep well, brother.

After putting away his phone, he quickly drifted off to sleep, for once glad that everything had ended with a happy ending. Kind of. Because of that, he didn’t hear the message that caused his phone to beep about twenty minutes later.

**Louis – 23:25**

Sleep well, brother.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should be able to finish this fanfic before I leave for the UK! So no waiting for you.
> 
> This is almost coming to an end... But not forever! I have many more ideas for this universe, don't worry (: I am just taking a break while I'm out of the country, though I will take a notebook with me to write down some notes on calmer moments.
> 
> For the second to last time, thank you for reading and commenting!

The week leading up to Louis’ visit was one of the more hectic ones. He wanted everything to be perfect, so after countless meetings with Chiron about safety, with Dionysus about where Louis could possibly sleep in case he decided to stay, with his friends so that they knew perfectly well how to behave around him, when the day finally arrived, Philippe had the feeling that he was ready for it.

So once again, he stood on top of the hill, his two best friends flanking him, as he waited for Louis.

It was Marchal who he spotted first, in the distance, though he was closely followed by his brother. The two of them were talking, though Philippe had no idea what they were talking about. He realised that he didn’t care, not really, as long as his brother was prepared to look at the place he had slowly started to see as home.

This time, that invisible barrier didn’t bother Louis, since he had already been invited in once. In fact, he knew that the camp should feel comfortable and welcoming this time. A smile spread across Louis’ face – Philippe could see it from where he was standing – before his gaze landed on his brother.

“Brother.” Louis was the first to speak, that smile still there.

“Welcome, brother.” Philippe stepped forward, pulling him in for a hug.

He must have held him a little tighter than he had expected, because his brother started to sputter and patted him on the shoulder in an attempt to get him to let go. “You’ve grown stronger since I last saw you.”

“This camp isn’t just a place for us to stay safe, Louis.” Philippe explained after letting go of him. He quickly stepped back, making sure to give him some distance. “It is a place to learn and understand our powers and how to fight.” He was wearing some Greek armour that he knew was showing off his body – Lorraine had picked it for him, to make sure that he looked good in front of his brother. “And boy have I learned how to fight.”

“I saw that last time I was here.” Louis said, though that hadn’t exactly been a good memory for either of them. “It was quite impressive to see you fight.”

Philippe nodded, but remained quiet. He knew that he wasn’t _bad_ at fighting, far from it, but he simply had no idea what to say next. Apparently his brother felt the same way, because his gaze wavered from his brother to the two people besides him.

“I see you are still hanging around with the same people you did before.” Louis’s glared at Lorraine, who immediately pulled Philippe into his arms in a rather possessive manner.

The younger Bourbon brother turned towards his boyfriend and pecked the side of his head. “I am, yes. They are good people and over these last few weeks, I’ve grown to care for them very deeply.”

Liselotte pulled him away from Lorraine – it didn’t matter that the was making rather possessive noises about it – only to pull Philippe in for a hug. It was the first time that he had expressed feeling like that, so she felt an overwhelming urge to show that those feelings were definitely returned. “You are one of the best friends a girl could want here, Philippe. I hope you know this.”

“I do.” The son of Hades said quietly, before turning back to his brother. “Before this gets too mushy, however, let me bring you to the central building. Chiron and Dionysus are waiting there for you.”

“Dionysus—as in the god?”

Philippe nodded, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to have a god live with you at the camp – though of course, for him, it was. “I suspect that he’ll see you, call you by the wrong name and leave.”

Louis raised an eyebrow at that, but didn’t seem to feel the need to comment on it.

“He ‘forgets’ my name every time he sees me.” Lorraine said, though he was almost bragging about it. “And I’m his _son_.”

“Are you sure these gods are good parents?”

“Oh no.” The three of them said at once, which caused them to glance at each other and grin.

“They’re absolutely awful.” Philippe said quietly. “But they’re still our parents. We don’t really have a lot of choice here.”

“It’s not as if we get to see them a lot.” The daughter of Athena admitted, before shrugging ever so slightly. “But we try to make the best out of a stupid situation. Through our parents, we got to meet each other, we got to become friends. And—I don’t know, I think that’s beautiful.”

“Are you sure you want to stay here, Philippe?” Louis now eyed his brother rather worriedly. “There still is a place for you back home, you know.”

While Philippe’s heart warmed at that nonchalant invitation, that casual mention of the house that he used to call home, he couldn’t help but shake his head. “Thank you, Louis, but I think I have found a new place to stay.”

The older Bourbon sighed softly, before nodding. “Shall we go to these two people then?”

As the four of them walked further into camp and Philippe and Lorraine held hands, the son of Hades realised that he didn’t want to be anywhere else. It had been true what he had said; this really was slowly but surely becoming his new home.

 

\--~--

 

The day didn’t turn out to be that special. Granted, there was extra fancy food for Louis, including one of the best bottles of wine that Chiron could get Dionysus to give away – though the fact that Lorraine looked at him with puppy eyes must also have helped – but apart from that, the camp went about their daily routines.

Philippe had gotten used to the early mornings, though that didn’t necessarily mean that he enjoyed them, and was more than ready to face the nine a.m. class. It was sword fighting, the very same class he had had the first day he had arrived at camp and Louis was sitting on one of the chairs around the arena, watching as the other campers started challenging each other.

The son of Hades sat next to him for about half of the class before Liselotte made her way over to him with a raised eyebrow. She didn’t even have to say the words, the youngest Bourbon simply jumped up and followed her to the centre of the arena, where he drew his sword.

As soon as the fight actually started, the world seem to fade around him. The only one who was in the brightest and clearest HD was Liselotte, his ‘opponent’. The fight lasted longer than usual: the two of them were pretty evenly matched, though the daughter of Athena was better at looking a few steps ahead than Philippe was.

However, the son of Hades was faster – _much_ faster – and managed to dodge most of her swings. The two of them jumped around, swung their swords, dodged, jumped again—at one point, Lorraine stepped by, even though he was supposed to be in a different class, who threw a bit of water at Philippe and left again. (The youngest Bourbon had been surprised that it hadn’t been wine.)

Once the fight was over – Liselotte had won – Philippe made his way back to Louis, grinning widely, but mostly really sweaty. “So what did you think?”

“You do this every day?” The human brother glanced at the demigod, running his eyes over him and the sweaty shirt that he was currently trying to take off. “That looks… intense.”

“Not every day.” Philippe shrugged, before using said shirt to dry his forehead – was that Lorraine he spotted at the edge of the arena, staring at him? “Every two or three days? It’s more fun than my fencing matches, before you put a halt to that.”

“I was protecting you.” Louis’ jaw tensed up, he disliked being reminded of actions from the past. “I see now that you never needed protection.”

“Never say never, brother.” Philippe said, before he was called out to the centre of the arena again. Apparently, his boyfriend wanted piece of the action as well. Who was he to deny him?

Once again, Louis was alone while Philippe was having all the fun.

 

\--~--

 

That evening, at dinner, Louis accompanied his brother to fire that was burning on the edge of the cafeteria area as Philippe pushed part of the food on his plate into it. When he turned around to the human Bourbon and looked at him expectantly, said human was lost for words for a moment. What did he need to do?

“It’s an offering for the gods. I know you’re not their kid and have no reason to do this, but please. For me.” Philippe looked at him with those big, icy blue eyes that Louis couldn’t help but give in – at least that was why the son of Hades thought that his brother had given him. He was sure that if he’d ask Lorraine later that night, he would confirm his suspicions.

Once the two of them had made their offering, they returned to the Hades table, where Lorraine and Liselotte were sitting, waiting for the two of them. Philippe was greeted by a kiss and a soft hello, after which he sat down right next to Lorraine. Louis – not wanting to be anywhere close to the love birds – sat down next to Liselotte.

“I’m Louis.” He said, holding a hand out towards her. Liselotte took it, of course, before introducing herself.

“Elizabeth Charlotte von der Pfaltz. But please, call me Liselotte.” They mostly ate in silence – rather unusual for the trio – until Louis eventually started asking questions about his brother’s friends.

“Liselotte, how did you end up here? When did you find out you were a demigod?” This seemed to be a genuine question, which not only surprised the one who was asked the question, but also Philippe. Since when did his brother care enough to ask these kinds of questions?

“I found out back in Germany and went to the European camp for a while, but when a quest brought me here and I discovered this camp and Philippe—I mean _Lorraine_ , I just didn’t want to leave.” The daughter of Athena shrugged nonchalantly, as if that was one of the most normal ways to get into an American camp.

“It was my charm that got her to stay.” Lorraine grinned, before winking at Liselotte. They had been friends for much longer than Philippe had suspected, which surprised him.

“Your charm and the fact that you have a doctor who actually knows what she’s doing.” Liselotte glanced Claudine, who was sitting at the Apollo table and who was talking to Fabien. They seemed to be engaged in a quite interesting conversation, because they used many hand gestures, and if Philippe paid close enough attention, he could hear a few words, here and there.

“And _you_?” Louis asked, pointing towards the other Philippe. “How did you end up here?”

Philippe turned towards Lorraine at that, his eyes filled with curiosity. He had never asked his boyfriend that because he could see that it made him uncomfortable. He had tried a few times, nonchalantly, to guide the conversation that way, but every single time, the subject had been dropped within seconds. The son of Hades expected the same to happen now, but much to his surprise, Lorraine shrugged.

“I didn’t have the best home life, so when my mom died, Dionysus pulled me out and brought me here. Nothing too special. That was nine years ago now…” As Lorraine trailed off, Philippe gently squeezed his hand in a show of support.

“I’m glad he got you out.” Philippe whispered. “Imagine what could have happened otherwise…”

Lorraine smiled at his boyfriend, but there was no smile, no warmth in his eyes, just some deeply rooted sadness. “We would have met either way, Philippe. I believe in that.”

As the two of them kissed, suddenly incredibly overwhelmed by each other’s presence and how happy they were that they had met in the way that they had, Liselotte turned towards the human Bourbon and tried to get the attention away from the two others.

“I promise you, usually they know how to behave.” She chuckled. “They’re not as bad as they seem to be.”

“You’ve clearly been good for my brother.” Louis said it quiet enough so that only the daughter of Athena would be able to hear his words. “He’s happy here.”

“He is.” She agreed, turning her attention back to the other two, who by now had stopped kissing and had turned back to the others. They were still leaning against each other, refusing to break skin-on-skin contact, but at least they were paying attention to the conversation once again.

“Brother, I think I should go.” Louis got up, a movement that Philippe followed with his eyes, which had suddenly become rather big and doe-like.

“Already? But brother—” He protested, though he didn’t move away from Lorraine to physically stop him. “—You can stay here If you want. There are plenty of beds in my cabin and I promise that _mon mignon_ will sleep in his own cabin.”

Despite the indignant noises coming from said _mignon_ , Louis shook his head. “I would like to just go home. Walk with me?”

More indignant noises came from the very same person, but Philippe pulled away from him and made his way over to his brother’s side. “I’ll walk you absolutely anywhere, brother.”

“Good. Let’s go.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the last chapter.
> 
> I haven't had as much fun writing as I had writing this in a long time.
> 
> Thank you to anyone who read it, thank you to those left kudos and comments, thank you to Elle, who supported me all the way while I plotted and rambled and wrote like a madwoman.
> 
> Thanks for going on this mad story with me, and hopefully till the next time.

The two brothers walked to the edge of the camp, not saying a word to each other as they walk. Since he didn’t know what Louis wanted to talk about, what was coming, Philippe stuffed his hands into his pockets in an attempt to keep them from shaking. He was surprisingly nervous.

“I’ve seen you here at camp for a full day…” Louis spoke slowly, almost hesitantly, as if for the first time in his life, he had absolutely no idea what he was going to say and how he was going to say it. “And, brother, I don’t think I have ever seen you happier than I’ve seen you today.”

With that hesitation in his brother’s voice, Philippe was already bracing himself for a series of insults that was going to be thrown at his head. However, that was not the case. “Louis—” He bit his lip, trying his best to keep his tears from rolling down his cheeks. His voice broke, so he was pretty sure that his brother knew exactly what was going on.

“Over the last few weeks, I’ve been going between hating you and wishing you the best. Before today—before today I was mostly stuck at hate.” This wasn’t the easiest for the human Bourbon to admit and Philippe knew that perfectly well, so he took one of his hands out of his pockets and placed it on Louis’ shoulder. “I thought it wasn’t fair that you actually were the son of a god, while I’ve been told that I was—” He abruptly cut himself off, refusing to continue whatever he was saying. It really didn’t matter all that much. “Point is, I’m… I may not have treated you the best way.”

“Louis—” His voice was going again, so Philippe just decided to just go for it. “Brother, you have no idea just how glad this makes me.”

When his brother wanted to say something else, the son of Hades raised his hand in an attempt to get him to shut up.

“Please, let me finish.” He was trying to find the words he wanted to say. “Throughout the last few weeks, I too have been guilty of feeling some form of hate towards you, but—Today was the most fun I’ve had in a long time, and not just because I was spending time with my friends. It was because I was also spending time with my brother.”

The two Bourbons looked at each other for a moment, before starting to laugh. In the beginning, it was a little awkward, but after a while, it turned quite genuine. They pulled each other in for a hug at about the same time, holding the other just a little too long for it to be just between friends.

But then again, they’d never been friends. Just brothers.

Once they let go, they turn back to the camp. They had a wonderful view of the Big House and the different cabins. A warm feeling spread through his chest as he recognised that it was his home. Especially with his brother by his side.

“We could be the king of this world, Louis. You the human king and I would be your fighter.” Philippe chuckled softly as he glanced around, his eyes going from the buildings back to his brother. “Of course, we can’t do that just yet, but—maybe one day, right?”

Louis laughed softly, nodding at his brother. “Maybe one day. I would love that, brother.”

The two of them remained quiet for a moment, before Philippe spoke up again. “I just realised why I never truly hated you.”

Louis blinked a few times before turning back to his brother, his head tilt. The son of Hades had seen this look before and knew that he was asking his brother for an explanation.

“How can I hate someone who I respect?”

The two of them grinned at each other, before turning back to the camp, rather than each other. “Do you still want to leave, brother?” The demigod asked. “You are more than welcome to share my cabin, there are plenty of free beds. It can host about twenty demigods, but right now, it’s just me. I’ve been told that my siblings don’t visit as often as they should.”

“Well, maybe we should put an end to that.” Louis nodded, deciding that one night extra in this camp would not be such a bad thing as he had first thought it would be.

“Besides, I’ve seen the looks that Marchal has been throwing our doctor, I think they get along just fine.” Philippe had spotted the two adults slowly making their way towards the hill that the two brothers were currently standing on. “How about we make our way back so that the two of them have the hill to themselves?”

“That doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.” Louis started to make his way down the hill, determined to be the first to arrive back at the cafeteria area. “Race you there!”

By the time the two brothers got back to the rest of the campers, they were giggling and just a little bit sweaty.

 

\--~--

 

A little later that evening, Philippe couldn’t fall asleep. Louis was snoring quite loudly – this was why the two of them had never shared a room – and while the demigod had never been an early sleeper, it was getting a little out of hand. So instead of roaming around the camp on his own, he decided that he was going to take a companion with him.

Sneaking into the Dionysus cabin was easy enough, but remaining quiet at the scene in front him wasn’t all that easy. Lorraine was standing in front of the mirror, fixing his hair. It was currently loose, hanging over his shoulders, the curls bouncing a little as he leaned forward to inspect himself.

“Aren’t you just beautiful?” He practically purred at the image in the mirror. “You are the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.”

Slapping his hand over his mouth, Philippe tried his absolute best to remain quiet, but that noise of skin upon skin in an empty cabin gave him away. Lorraine turned around, his eyes wide with surprise as he realised that what he had been caught doing. “Philippe, it isn’t—”

With a wide grin around his face, he made his way over to his boyfriend, gently pulling the other into his arms. “It isn’t what I think it is?”

“Well, no, it is _exactly_ what you think it is. But it isn’t— an absolute disgrace. Don’t you talk to yourself?” Lorraine turned around until he faced the son of Hades, a wide grin around his lips. “Don’t you tell yourself that you are beautiful?”

“I can’t say that I have, darling.” He had, of course, in those moments that Louis had made it quite clear that he was undesirable number one.  “Now, you have just called yourself the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen. Are you quite sure about that?”

“Are you jealous, mignonette? Are you scared that I prefer myself over you?” The son of Dionysus could be a cheeky little bugger at times, and he knew exactly how much he could get away with.

“Of course not, I was merely curious.” Philippe chuckled, before pulling away from the other demigod. “Now, of course, I should be making my way back to my cabin. I’m sure that Louis has stopped snoring by now.”

“Were you running away from your brother again?” Lorraine immediately moved closer to his boyfriend again, trying to stop a whine from escaping him. While Philippe didn’t want to spend the night alone, he feared that if he wasn’t there when his brother woke up, he would get in quite some trouble.

“No, absolutely not. Just his snores.” As Lorraine wrapped his arms around him once again, Philippe couldn’t help but cling that little bit tighter to him. “While I can’t stay here for the full night, I think I could stay here for a few hours, don’t you think?”

“I think that is a _very_ good idea, mignonette.” Lorraine smiled. “The _best_ , in fact.”

 

\--~--

 

The next morning, Philippe awoke in the Hades cabin, miraculously enough. He didn’t remember making his way over there – he had fallen asleep after a few hours of vigorous and enthusiastic activities – but then again, Lorraine had proven before that he could easily carry the son of Hades just about anywhere.

The note next to his bed confirmed his suspicions, since it had his name on it, written in his boyfriend’s elegant writing. Picking it up and opening it up, he ran his eyes over the sweet message that was inside for him.

_‘Mignonette,_

_You looked so wonderful asleep that I couldn’t bear to wake you. However, I know how important it was for you to be there when your brother woke up, so I decided to bring you back to your cabin. And don’t worry, I did make sure that you put on that ridiculous silk pyjama. I don’t quite understand why you insist on wearing the damn thing, but I have to agree, it does feel quite soft._

_See you in a couple of hours, my dear._

_Your Philippe.’_

Letting out a soft sigh, he glanced over at his brother’s bed, only to spot his sleeping form still there. The same warmth that had spread across his chest the last night was doing so once again, something that he had only experienced with Lorraine before, though this heat never travelled down to his loins.

He slowly made his way over towards his brother, gently pressed a kiss to his temples, before making his way outside. Once again, he made his way over to the top of the hill, where he sat down. It was only then that he realised that he was still wearing his pyjama’s and that they were positively ruined at this point.

Well, maybe that was a sign for him to switch his way of dressing for the night.

As he looked over the camp for the second time in as many times he had climbed that hill, a smile slowly spread across his face. How his life had changed in such a short time. The sigh that escaped him was a content one, especially as he slowly lowered himself until he laid down on the green grass that surrounded him.

This moment could last forever for him. Just him in the place that he had grown to love. Just him— No. Something was missing. No, not something, some _one_. Two people, in fact.

He was about to get up to go and collect them when he could see two figures slowly make their way up the hill.

“Yoohoo! Philippe?” Liselotte called out to him, as she waved enthusiastically at him. “We brought some breakfast!”

“Two kinds of breakfast!” The chuckles that drifted up the hill told Philippe that Lorraine had just been nudged and that at least part of the breakfast had threatened to fall.

He immediately pushed himself up and greeted his friends. “How did you know I was here?”

“Oh, Philippe, you should know that those are questions that really shouldn’t be asked around here.” Liselotte spoke, before plopping down onto the ground right next to him.

“We just sort of did, my dear.” Lorraine said, before laying down right next to his boyfriend, his head in his lap. “Now eat your breakfast before the rest of the camp awakes.”

“Which breakfast would that be, my dear?”

The sound of laughter and just straight up happiness drifted down the hill as the small little family had a happy gathering in the early morning. If anyone had looked up at that hill, they would have known that the people up there were truly content.

And may they remain that way forever.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't the end of the story I have to tell, though. 
> 
> There are many ideas that I want to explore. At least three one-shots and a 'season two', as I am currently calling it in my head. 
> 
> On the other hand, I am also considering writing something in the Merlin fandom, based around Mordred. (What a surprise, ey?)
> 
> Please do let me know which one you'd prefer! I'm usually available on twitter, currently residing as [Fabièn.](https://twitter.com/TowerOfFrance) Don't hesitate to message me if you want to talk about just anything. I'll probably reply!


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